Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) yesterday announced the launch of a “One ID” smart travel service, enabling international travelers to access airport services using facial recognition after completing a one-time registration.
The airport is the nation’s first and only airport offering the “One ID” service, Taipei International Airport Office director Cheng Chien-chung (鄭建中) told a news conference in Taipei.
About 2.8 million international air travelers accessed the airport last year, heading to Japan, South Korea and China.
Photo courtesy of the Civil Aeronautics Administration
A survey conducted by the airport office showed that more than 85 percent of air travelers hoped to pass through security clearance using self-help kiosks and biometrics, Cheng said.
The airport organized a trial of the “One ID” service in 2019 after consulting similar systems at Singapore Changi Airport, Hong Kong International Airport and Tokyo Haneda Airport, he said.
Results showed that the airport could significantly reduce operational costs by integrating various user interfaces after passenger check-in, he added.
The office then spent more than two years building the “One ID” service, Cheng said.
To access the service, passengers would first need to complete facial registration, he said.
“When passengers check in at either a staffed counter or a self-service kiosk, their passports would be scanned, and the chips in passports would convert the passport photograph into a biometric identifier and link it to the boarding pass,” Cheng said, adding that passengers would still have a hard copy of their boarding pass.
Once registration is complete, passengers can access the baggage drop, pass through security checks, enter the VIP lounge and board flights by simply showing their faces at cameras at each stop, he said.
Passengers who complete an online check-in before arriving at the airport could also complete facial registration before entering the security check area, he added.
Immigration agents would still be on site for passport checks, or passengers can have their passports scanned and checked by e-Gates installed by the National Immigration Agency, Cheng said.
Trial results showed that the “One ID” system could reduce passenger check-in time by 30 percent and staffing needs by 20 percent, he said.
The system failed to process faces of only about 5 percent of passengers during the trial, mainly due to significant changes in facial features caused by injuries or plastic surgery, he added.
Passenger information recorded in the system would be deleted within 24 hours of the departure of flights, he said, adding that the system was built in accordance with security regulations.
The Civil Aviation Administration said that it would monitor the effectiveness of the “One ID” system before considering making it available at other airports.
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