An even faster way to get through airport security: Here’s how to use touchless ID
Touchless biometric or ID screening is coming to an airport near you, and it will speed up your journey — especially through airport security.
I’m a huge fan and now that more and more airports are implementing this technology, I wanted to share what it’s like to use it.
Essentially, the new technology allows facial recognition software to confirm your identity, clear immigration, print luggage tags, and even let you pass through security checks without leaving. Show your boarding pass or withdraw your identification documents.
For example, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Delta Air Lines operates a biometric screening lane that is often the fastest way to get through security. I used it in Atlanta, as well as at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). I find it faster than the TSA PreCheck line and the Clear line.
American Airlines recently announced that they will join Delta and United Airlines, both of which already operate biometric screening at select airports. The version Delta uses is called “Delta Digital ID,” and it allows TSA PreCheck members to use facial recognition to bypass TSA PreCheck security in just a few seconds.
The future of airport security checks is here
Touch ID is the future of airport security and it’s already here. That means passengers can speed through baggage drop-off, Transportation Security Administration checks and — at many airports — boarding counters, all without needing to show a boarding pass or even identification documents in some cases.
“It attracts people,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement. Interview with TPG. “It provides better security. It’s faster and it’s a much better experience for everyone.”
Both Delta and United also use biometric bag drop, which shortens baggage check wait times where it’s deployed.
The technology is spreading, revolutionizing the airport experience for travelers who already use it.
Daily newsletter
Gift your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers to get breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive offers from TPG experts
It is also becoming more popular internationally. Facial recognition is increasingly used to screen passengers at ports of entry using biometric-enabled electronic gates, such as the passenger welcome gate at Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO).
TSA has been testing this technology since 2019. Currently, biometrics have been deployed at more than 30 airports across the country, although they are mainly used at boarding gates to speed up the boarding process. Passengers boarding the plane is often very slow. A screen will take your photo and match it to a photo of your identification document or, alternatively, your actual travel document, such as a passport.
1 belong to 4
CLINT HENDERSON/POINT
Here’s how biometric security screening works
I’ll use Delta as an example because it’s the airline I have the most experience with. Delta Digital ID is currently available as part of a pilot program at seven US airports: ATL, JFK, LGA, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
Select Delta SkyMiles members with TSA PreCheck and a valid U.S. passport are eligible. To sign up, you will see a banner ad in the app.
You will need to opt in to the new technology. I received the offer in the Delta Air Lines app when I logged in for my flight because my TSA PreCheck number and passport number were already in my customer profile and because I was flying from an airport that was one of first to offer biometric security screening services.
Once you opt in, you’ll receive a confirmation, as my colleague Yemi Kolawole did.
Once you have completed these steps, your future boarding pass will display a small green box with a rough outline of your file to the left of the TSA PreCheck symbol.
Next, keep an eye out for the “Digital ID” badge featured on signs at baggage drop and security lines at participating airports.
Below are some images of signs at various airports, including in Chicago, New York City, and Atlanta.
1 belong to 6
CLINT HENDERSON/POINT
I have now used touchless ID multiple times at ATL as well as at JFK and LGA in New York City. I found this to be the fastest security check method; it puts me in a special lane and pushes me ahead of the crowd every time. I often get priority over TSA PreCheck and Clear members and I get expedited access to the screeners. For example, at JFK, the line for PreCheck and Clear can be quite long in Terminal 4, but there has never been a line for the digital ID line when I’ve traveled.
You will arrive in front of everyone in line for Clear or TSA PreCheck screening.
I also noticed signs are now posted in LGA Terminal B, where I hope American Airlines will soon allow touchless security screening.
1 belong to 6
CLINT HENDERSON/POINT
I’m delighted with the popularity of biometric screening, and I’m excited to see more airlines implementing it at more airports in the coming years. But of course, not everyone is so happy.
What about privacy concerns with touchless or biometric screening?
The head of the TSA told me that many people are skeptical about touchless screening “because they assume… at some point we’re going to monitor people with biometrics, which we won’t do.” . We have a unique use case.” There are no other use cases other than identity verification.”
Pekoske went on to explain the program’s commitment to privacy. “That’s in our privacy impact statements,” he said. It’s in all of our messages. And if someone were to investigate our activities, you would see that we never use it for anything other than identity verification.”
Related: Why you should get TSA PreCheck and Clear – and how you can save on both
Others worry that the TSA stores facial images forever and that people could abandon their privacy protections. However, Pekoske told me that as soon as a passenger leaves the identity verification process, that data is deleted the same day. “We don’t keep it,” Pekoske said.
He said the TSA prioritizes protecting privacy in developing facial recognition technology. “We do not retain your data and it is audited,” Pekoske said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection also said it protects the data of passengers it screens arriving in the United States during border inspections. According to CBP, photos of Americans are deleted within 12 hours, but they store photos of all non-citizens for up to 75 years.
What about racial or ethnic profiling?
Over the years, there have been concerns that the TSA or the US Department of Homeland Security sometimes discriminates against people’s race or ethnicity. Pekoske insists that is not true and that this is an issue about which the government is generally very sensitive.
“Some people still feel that this technology works differently for different travel demographics – you know, people with darker skin,” he said. However, Pekoske said that never happened. “Maybe they’re reading papers from five, six, seven, eight years ago that there were performance differences in certain algorithms that we never used.”
“We keep that in check. When I say we, it’s not the TSA. It’s the Department of Homeland Security. So it’s in my hands because I want it to be,” Pekoske continued. I don’t want to do that.” be my own tester and all the research we’ve done on this shows that there are no statistically significant differences between demographic groups.”
He said TSA puts privacy protections first and also said there were no performance differences across the system.
Bottom line
Ready or not, the age of biometrics has arrived.
Touchless security screening is already available at some major airline hubs and is being rolled out even more. Having used it for over a year, I’m delighted with how quickly it got me through security (and customs). I’m looking forward to this technology being rolled out in more airports, and I can’t wait until American Airlines starts using it more next year. I will be one of the first to register.
Related reading:
