Frankfurt has become the first airport in Europe to provide a completely contactless travel experience to all of its passengers, using face biometrics as identification from check-in to boarding the aircraft.
According to an announcement by the Frankfurt Airport official website, SITA, a leading company in air transport communications and information technology, and Fraport are enabling all airlines at Frankfurt Airport to use this technology jointly.
Passengers can register in advance on their phone via the Star Alliance biometric app or in person at the checkpoints, with their biometric-enabled passports by using SITA’s Smart Path biometric technology. After completing the registration process, they can pass the facial recognition checkpoints without presenting any physical documents, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
We are the first European airport to offer all passengers a contactless and convenient passenger journey using biometrics. Our goal for the coming months is to equip at least 50 per cent of all check-in kiosks, pre-security and boarding gates with the new and pioneering technology.
According to David Lavorel, CEO of SITA, this technology will expedite the required steps at the airport, allowing passengers to spend more time relaxing rather than standing in line.
We know from our research that where biometrics are introduced, more than 75 per cent of passengers will gladly use them. Therefore, we are pleased to bring the benefits of a faster airport journey to Frankfurt Airport.
As indicated in the statement, more than 12,000 passengers at check-in, boarding pass control and boarding gates are using this technology.
In September 2023, Fraport introduced the world’s first walk-through scanner for passengers, aiming to increase the efficiency and convenience of security checks while respecting the same high-security standards. The technology will be tested for a period of up to six months in order for the airport and Rohde & Schwarz to collect the necessary insights for the eventual changes that might be needed for the system to improve.
Fraport (FRA) is among the most crowded airports in Europe. In September 2023, approximately 5.8 million passengers travelled through this airport, representing an 18.2 per cent growth compared to September 2022.
This winter, the Frankfurt airport will be offering flights to 242 destinations in 94 countries worldwide through 82 airlines. There will be approximately 690,000 seats per week offered to travellers, a number 17 per cent higher than that of last winter.