Delta goes biometric

Fingerprints are replacing IDs at Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in the US in the first phase of a plan by Delta Air Lines to introduce biometric boarding passes, initially for members of its Sky Club loyalty programme.

The airline says the project when fully tested will allow qualifying passengers enrolled in a security system called CLEAR to go from luggage check-in into the Sky Club and on to the aircraft without having to produce paperwork.

Delta COO Gil West said: “We’re rapidly moving toward a day when your fingerprint, iris or face will become the only ID you’ll need for any number of transactions throughout a given day.

“We’re excited Delta’s partnership with CLEAR gives us an engine to pioneer this customer experience at the airport.”

The Washington pilot will test how Delta and CLEAR systems work together, with eligible passengers able to traverse DCA as they do today and simply use their fingerprint instead of pulling out IDs and boarding passes.

The move is one of a number of programmes introduced by Delta over the past year, including biometric-based self-service bag drop, radio frequency identification (RFID) baggage handling and real-time bag tracking via the Fly Delta mobile app.

www.delta.com

www.clearme.com

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