Facial Recognition: Coming Soon to an Airport Near You

On a recent Thursday morning in Queens, travelers streamed through the exterior doors of La Guardia Airport’s Terminal C. Some were bleary-eyed — most hefted briefcases — as they checked bags and made their way to the security screening lines.

It was business as usual, until some approached a line that was almost empty. One by one, they walked to a kiosk with an iPad affixed to it and had their photos taken, as a security officer stood by. Within seconds, each passenger’s image was matched to a photo from a government database, and the traveler was ushered past security into the deeper maze of the airport. No physical ID or boarding pass required.

Some travelers, despite previously opting into the program, still proffered identification, only for the officer to wave it away.

This passenger screening using facial recognition software and made available to select travelers at La Guardia by Delta Air Lines and the Transportation Security Administration, is just one example of how biometric technology, which uses an individual’s unique physical identifiers, like their face or their fingerprints, promises to transform the way we fly.

This year could be the “tipping point” for widespread biometrics use in air travel, said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst for Atmosphere Research. Time-consuming airport rituals like security screening, leaving your luggage at bag drop and even boarding a plane may soon only require your face, “helping to reduce waiting times and stress for travelers,” Mr. Harteveldt said.

In the United States, major airlines have increasingly invested in facial recognition technology as have government agencies in charge of aviation security. Overseas, a growing number of international airports are installing biometrics-enabled electronic gates and self-service kiosks at immigration and customs.

The technology’s adoption could mean enhanced security and faster processing for passengers, experts say. But it also raises concerns over privacy and ethics.

Dr. Morgan Klaus Scheuerman, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Colorado who studies the ethics of artificial intelligence and digital identity, said many questions have emerged about the use of biometrics at airports: How are the systems being trained and evaluated? Would opting out be considered a red flag? What if your documents don’t match your current appearance?

“I’m sure many people feel powerless to stop the trajectory,” Dr. Scheuerman said.

In the United States, bullish about the technology

The T.S.A., with more than 50,000 officers at nearly 430 airports in the United States, is the main federal agency ensuring the safety of the hundreds of millions of passengers who fly each year. Travelers who are determined to be “low-risk” can apply for T.S.A.’s PreCheck program, which offers expedited security screening at more than 200 domestic airports. PreCheck, which requires an in-person appointment to show documents and give fingerprints, and biometric verification by Clear, a private screening company, have helped to reduce the wait time for screening, but air travelers still must occasionally stand in long queues to get to their gates.

The T.S.A. has experimented with facial recognition technology since 2019. Screening verification currently offered at Denver and Los Angeles International Airports and some 30 other airports starts when a photo is taken of the traveler. Then facial recognition software is used to match the image to a physical scan of a license or passport. The photo is deleted shortly afterward, according to the agency. This process, which passengers can opt out of, will be available at some 400 more airports in the coming years, the agency said.

Melissa Conley, a T.S.A. executive director overseeing checkpoint technologies, said that biometric technology is better than human agents at matching faces rapidly and accurately.

“People are not good at matching faces. It’s just known,” Ms. Conley said. “Machines don’t get tired.”

The process still requires passengers to show their IDs. But the program being tried by Delta, called Delta Digital ID, changes that.

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