Canada’s largest airline is adopting the same technology you use to unlock your phone.
What happened: Air Canada is the first Canadian airline to roll out its own facial recognition system as it starts scanning most passengers on domestic flights leaving from Vancouver International Airport today, replacing the need to show a government-issued ID.
- The Delta and Emirates airlines already use facial recognition to speed up boarding, while airports in the U.S., Germany, China, and Abu Dhabi use biometric sensors from bag drop to boarding.
- Air Canada says it plans to expand the program to other airports across the country “in the near future.”
Why it matters: While airlines say they’re trying to save travellers time and effort, the shift to contactless systems would also mean hiring far fewer workers. Experts say that a shift to fully automated airports would likely face major resistance from unions.
Yes, but: Technical difficulties or cyber-incidents can derail these systems and create bigger problems for travellers. Last year, a glitch shut down electronic border gates across the U.K. on one of the busiest travel days of the year.—LA