Air Canada launches facial recognition digital identification in Canada – a first for an airline!
Certain Air Canada customers travelling to Vancouver and Toronto Pearson airports will be the first to try out this new digital identification method as part of a pilot project. This new process will improve and facilitate passengers’ experience at the airport, as they will not need to present their identity document to board or access the company’s lounges. Their mobile device will prove the person’s identity.
Many users are familiar with digital IDs to simplify their day-to-day activities, such as unlocking their cell phone, accessing the workplace and verifying their identity during a transaction,” said Craig Landry, Air Canada’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
“We are very pleased to affirm our leadership position in Canada and to trial digital identification using facial recognition technology to validate customer identity quickly, securely and accurately at certain moments of customer interaction at the airport. Participation in digital identification is voluntary. Customers who wish to take part will benefit from a simplified, hassle-free process at the boarding gate or lounge entrance.”
Digital identification at the airport takes just a few simple steps from the company’s mobile application:
- Passport photo
- Passport chip scanning (NFC)
- Take a self-portrait of the user
The digital profile will be created and saved on the device! Then all you have to do is go to the digital identification terminal to perform automated facial recognition, and access the service without showing your ID!
This experiment aims to improve and simplify the boarding process. This is a further step after the dematerialization of boarding passes. From now on, you can board an Air Canada flight without showing your passport! Faster boarding, less handling of identity documents and, ultimately, an improved customer experience: that’s the promise of this pioneering airline experience.
Please note that this new digital identification process remains optional and not mandatory for boarding.
