Facial Recognition Technology in Airports

If you have been inside of a United States airport within the past year, you might have noticed an increase in the use of facial recognition technology by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). For people that have traveled to other countries or are generally okay with the use of such technology, it probably doesn't seem like anything worth spending too much time thinking about. However, there are people who are skeptical of facial recognition technology -- and understandably so.

While I am not a technology expert, I do pay for and use biometric scanning technology in airports and have done so now for years as a CLEAR Plus member. I also have TSA PreCheck and have traveled internationally which have all influenced my perspective on the idea of facial recognition technology. That being said, I'm not here to convince on whether to believe it's technology that you should embrace or not. What I am here to do is share some of the key things you should know about facial recognition technology in airports.

How Facial Recognition Technology in Airports Works

In short, the idea of facial recognition technology in airports is that you get your ID scanned and then you have an image of your face taken in real time to verify your identity. You will be allowed to proceed forward to the luggage and body scans if your facial recognition scan confirms your ID matches your face. Several airports in other countries have adopted similar technology as well. This was also the technology used upon returning to the Port of Miami when I exited the cruise terminal after sailing with Virgin Voyages.

You Can Opt-Out of Facial Recognition Technology Screening

Despite the initial push from TSA employees to use the facial recognition technology to scan your face, you can opt-out of doing so. Rather than having technology scan your face and your ID to confirm that the images match to prove that you are who you are, you can opt-out and have a human do the manual facial recognition screening which is the procedure that was previously standard. You are not required to use the biometric scan to verify your identity while going through TSA airport security.

Does Facial Recognition Technology Shorten TSA Lines?

No, not necessarily. While that may be a goal, it is certainly not a guarantee. If more people choose to opt-out of using facial recognition technology, airport security lines will not speed up. And, for locations like the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, construction also gets in the way and could force more people to use a reduced number of security screening lanes. Also, technology is always prone to not functioning properly which means this facial recognition technology is not a given to always work. If any of these things or other issues come up, the facial recognition is not going to speed up TSA lines at the airport.

Some Airlines are Using Facial Recognition Technology

Delta, United, and Air Canada are some of the airlines that are exploring the use of biometric scans in an attempt to speed up lines at the counter for things like checking bags or even boarding. Like the TSA facial recognition technology, it is optional to use. Passengers upload a photo to the airline's app and the image is deleted soon after the biometric scan at the airport is complete. No matter what, your images are stored at least temporarily in a database and compared to confirm your identity.

Kimi's [Travel] Thoughts - Personal Commentary

You might be wondering how I feel about facial recognition technology in airports given my experience using it in other aspects of travel. I will say that it certainly helps when exiting the cruise terminal because that line simply doesn't stop moving. At the airport, there is some confusion by people when they approach the TSA agent's desk because facial recognition technology intended to be used by everyone is still very new to people who primarily fly domestically in the United States. This slows down the momentum a bit, but I understand why people are a bit surprised when encountering the technology. The government already has my passport image on file along with my drivers license photo and other ways to identify me, so a biometric scan doesn't leave me feeling uneasy.

On the other hand, I pay for CLEAR Plus and that's a private company that uses a biometric scan to verify my identity at the airport. It was the thing I was most weary of when I decided to sign up for CLEAR using a free trial. But then I ended up in the Denver Airport a few years ago during peak summer travel season and CLEAR was the only reason I didn't have to wait in line at all to get through the TSA lines. It's certainly strange that I prefer walking up to a machine that scans my eyes to confirm my identity, but having CLEAR Plus in combination with TSA PreCheck has made getting through airport security in U.S. airports a much fast experience overall. While I love being in airports, I also value my time.

My face is easily searched on the internet anyway and for that reason I don't feel too weird about the use of facial recognition technology in airports or even cruise terminals. However, I have willingly opted into my face being readily found on the internet or social media and used for biometric scans while traveling. That's not something everyone wants and that's why it's important to remember that you can opt-out of using facial recognition technology if you do not feel comfortable using it.

A.I. Image Note: The cover image for this blog post was generated using artificial intelligence (A.I.). All other images associated with this post were pulled from the Unsplash database which provides open source images that are free to use.

Feel free to leave comments below or leave a post/message on Facebook to share your thoughts on the use of facial recognition technology in airports! Exclusive video and photo content only on Instagram.