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Study shows passengers will embrace biometrics to avoid queues
November 18th 2021
A new industry study suggests COVID-19 has made passengers more likely to share biometric data if it means avoiding long check-in queues at airports. Read More » The International Air Transport Association (IATA) study showed 73% of airline passengers are willing to embrace biometrics to bypass airport logjams compared with just 46% in 2019. Almost nine in 10 passengers also are willing to share immigration data before departure if it resulted in expedited processing. Biometrics were being introduced at airports before the onset of the pandemic to help cope with increased passenger volumes. As a result, more than a third of travellers have experienced the technology. The IATA survey showed 86% of this group was satisfied with the experience. More than half of those surveyed identified queuing while boarding an aircraft as the area that most needed improving followed by security screening (41%) and border control/immigration (36%). Nearly everybody wanted to spend less time dealing with airport processes, with 85% of respondents opting for less than 45 minutes. “Passengers have spoken and want technology to work harder, so they spend less time ‘being processed’ or standing in queues,’’ said IATA’s senior vice president for operations, Nick Careen. “They are willing to use biometric data if it delivers this result. Before traffic ramps up, we have a window of opportunity to ensure a smooth return to travel post-pandemic and deliver long-term efficiency improvements for passengers, airlines, airports and governments.”
