British Airways is rolling out technology that will allow passengers to go through boarding gates at its main London Heathrow Airport hub using facial recognition.
Biometric devices at the main security-screening area in Terminal 5 capture a traveler’s features along with the boarding pass, and then a facial scan at the gate verifies the person’s identity, allowing them to get on the plane without showing documents, BA said in a letter to staff. The system is designed to speed up boarding and reduce errors, it said.
Three gates are now using the equipment. The system will be used initially only for domestic routes, with the eventual goal of extending it to international flights.
The Heathrow facial-scanning setup is starting just as new U.K. and U.S. security measures take effect, forbidding travelers coming from some Middle Eastern locations from bringing laptops and other large consumer electronic devices into plane cabins. The aviation industry is looking into facial-recognition technology worldwide.