Delta Air Lines, in partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), will install facial recognition at three airports over the next month.
The technology will be installed at boarding gates and will be used for international flights. It can save approximately nine minutes of boarding time for wide-body aircraft.
“With facial recognition technology, we are simply taking a picture and matching it against passport photos, replacing the manual comparison process,” John Wagner, CBP deputy executive assistant commissioner, office of field operations, said. “Built on years of testing and partnership with Delta, expansion will bring a more efficient travel experience to more passengers, while meeting the federal requirements for international passenger verification that have been in place since 1996.”
The use of facial recognition is optional. Travelers can opt out by telling a Delta gate agent and boarding using a boarding pass and passport.
The technology will be installed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport, and Salt Lake City International Airport.
A total of 93 percent of passengers have no issues using facial recognition technology, according to third-party customer insight research, with 72 percent preferring facial recognition to standard boarding.
CBP has a match rate of more than 97 percent for facial recognition.