Air Canada is making facial recognition a voluntary rather than mandatory part of the customer travel experience.
Although, with plans to rollout digital identification options across select Canadian airports and lounges, identity technologies are still clearly the cornerstone of modernising the future of travel, advancing security and upending chaotic airport procedures.
Air Canada’s digital identification will be available for journeys from Vancouver International Airport to Winnipeg and can be used to enter Air Canada Café in Toronto Pearson International Airport using the mobile Air Canada app where customers can pre-load their biometrics. Customer biometric and personal information is encrypted and stored only on their device.
Craig Landry, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, Air Canada said: “Many of our customers already utilise digital credentials to simplify their daily activities such as unlocking mobile phones, entering workplaces, verifying identification during financial transactions and more”.
“We are very excited to now take a leadership position in Canada and test digital identification using facial recognition technology to validate customer identification quickly, securely and accurately at select airport touchpoints. Participation in digital identification is voluntary. Customers choosing to use digital identification will benefit from a simplified and seamless process at the gate and when entering our Maple Leaf Lounges.”
Alternatively, passengers can choose to present their boarding pass at check-in with their passport or government-issued photo ID as normal for a manual check,
