Dublin Airport to participate in first of its kind biometrics trial

The trial is thought to be the first biometric trial that enables passengers to use the same biometric system at their departure and arrival airports and with their airline.

The public trial, which passengers can opt for voluntarily, will start in Dublin in April 2019, and uses technology developed by the U.S. company Collins Aerospace, whereby a single sign up identification process streamlines the passenger’s outbound and return journey. 

A passenger who opts into the SelfPass process will have the biometric data from their passport securely stored which will help speed up the passenger journey. The biometric information is used at self-service check-in and is linked to their boarding card and their self-drop bag tag. Using facial recognition technology, their image is checked at the boarding gate and is automatically cross referenced with the boarding card information, which means they don’t have to present any documents at the gate.

Frances O’Brien, Vice President of PMO for daa, said: “We are really pleased to be an early adopter of this new technology designed to further enhance the experience for both our passengers and our airline customers at Dublin Airport. We are delighted with the early progress of the trial in testing so far and we look forward to extending the technology to a wider audience, including passengers travelling to the U.S. in the coming months.”

Christopher Forrest, Vice President of Global Airport Systems for Collins Aerospace, commented: “Dublin and Bristol airports are changing the way passengers travel and making the process easier and more efficient. For example, it takes less than one second to capture and process a passenger’s facial image and eliminates the need to repeatedly present travel documents. We see this as another major leap forward for our biometric technology to play a key role in making the connected aviation ecosystem a reality.”

In 2019, Dublin Airport welcomed 31.5 million passengers, which was a six per cent increase on the previous 12 months. Passenger numbers are up nine per cent in the first two months of 2019, as more than four million passengers have used the airport in January and February alone.

Dublin Airport has flights to almost 200 destinations in 43 countries, operated by 56 airlines and is the 11th busiest airport in the European Union. It is one of Ireland’s key economic assets, as it generates or facilitates 117,300 jobs and €8.3 billion worth of economic activity.