The seamless journey: What does the future hold for airports?

Changi Airport in Singapore stands out as a great example of an airport able to reinvent itself and provide its travellers with an enjoyable journey. Together with IDEMIA, the Changi Airport Group has managed to cut wait times, improve the overall passenger’ experience and shine on the international stage as the ‘world’s best airport’ for the seventh consecutive year, in the annual Skytrax awards². The advantages are evident to the passengers, the airports and the airlines.

Advantages on every front

For travellers, their airport journey will be stress-free, smoother and faster. No bottlenecks, no downtime and no pulling out your boarding credentials every three minutes. Instead, IDEMIA’s ground-breaking technology will capture the passenger’s biometrics (face, iris, fingerprints) and retrieve it at every checkpoint (security, self‑bag drop, boarding, lounge area etc.).

For airports, a smooth journey allows staff to locate passengers, which reduces processing times at departure and arrival, improving aircraft turnarounds. It also increases the quality of service and security as well as the airports’ ranking.

For airlines, IDEMIA’s high-tech solution means loyal, happy passengers and fewer delays, as it speeds up passenger processing at boarding.

However, private stakeholders must be aware of the risks involved concerning the processing of passengers’ data.

Security and privacy

A passenger’s biometrics constitute private and sensitive data that airports and airlines have to treat with utmost security. The 2018 data leaks of two leading actors in the social networking sector impacted more than 90 million users. Such breaches can have devastating effects on a business’ reputation, notwithstanding the dramatic economic downfall it can cause. For passengers, having their data breached could lead to fraud and potential identity theft.

Yet, 65 per cent of passengers are willing to share additional personal information (address of destination, picture, etc.) to speed up processing at airports, 45 per cent of air travellers choose biometric identification as a replacement of their passports, and 56 per cent would like to be able to track their baggage³. If numbers never lie, these show that there is a necessity for expansion of a seamless journey. Changi Airport’s partnership with IDEMIA has proved that technology is fundamental in making passengers’ lives as stress-free as possible, while providing private stakeholders and travellers with the security and peace of mind they deserve.

Time to get onboard and let the seamless journey take us where we need to go.