Travel Tech: Delta’s Facial Recognition Kiosks for International Travelers

“One look and you’re in.”

That’s the promise made to international travelers passing through Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Delta Airlines’ Terminal F. Using new biometric kiosks, passengers can approach automated cameras, scan their faces, and those scans will then be matched to the passengers’ passport or visa photos.

The kiosks are available for customers flying direct to international destinations on Delta, Aeromexico, Air France, KLM or Virgin Atlantic, and are located at several checkpoint locations during the boarding process:

• Self-service check-in
• Checked baggage counters
• TSA checkpoints
• Terminal F boarding gates
• CBP processing for international arrivals

According to Delta, the “curb to gate” facial recognition option saves an average of two seconds for each customer at boarding. That may not sound like much for an individual, but when you multiply that small amount of time by the number of people boarding a wide-body aircraft, it can shave as much as nine minutes off the jet’s total boarding time.

Delta’s COO, Gil West, says the biometric terminals may soon be a blueprint for the industry. “We’re removing the need for a customer checking a bag to present their passport up to four times per departure,” he says, “which means we’re giving customers the option of moving through the airport with one less thing to worry about, while empowering our employees with more time for meaningful interactions with customers.”

In Atlanta, the facial recognition technology is available after passengers enter their passport information for the first time. During every additional security step, passengers simply approach a kiosk, click “look” on the kiosk screen, and await their green checkmark.

Now that the system has been tested at the nation’s busiest airport, look for additional biometric terminals this month at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. New locations will be rolled out throughout 2019.

Delta was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies Worldwide in 2018, and this option shows the company continues to introduce ground-breaking technology.

Have you encountered one of the Terminal F face recognition kiosks yet in Atlanta?