Half of Star Alliance carriers to use...

Star Alliance has 26 member airlines, including Turkish Airlines, Air Indian and Air Canada

Star Alliance is aiming to increase contactless travel among its member airlines in order to reduce airport congestion.

Comprising 26 member airlines, Star Alliance is pushing for up to 15 of its member airlines to use biometric technology by 2025.

The pandemic brought technological changes to the aviation industry, as contactless touch points became a necessity for some airports, leading to the installation of facial scanners and self-check-in counters. However, not all airports and airlines adopted the changes with most check-in and boarding processes still primarily conducted physically by airline employees.

With recent staffing shortages creating congestion and unpleasant flying experiences, Star Alliance hopes that increased use of biometric technology at airport touch points, such as facial comparison when verifying a boarding pass, will eventually reduce processing time through airport security, baggage drops, departure gates and lounges.

Star Alliance vice president of Customer Experience Christian Draeger, commented: “When biometrics are used by at least half of travellers worldwide, it’s possible to see significant benefits. However, we will definitely need to be heading toward half of our carriers participating. At the same time, we must also increase the network of participating airports.”

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Although the use of biometrics has admittedly eased travel inconveniences, with around 80% of ICAO states using e-passports, the use of biometrics in travel varies by region due to different privacy rules and some countries’ lack of technical expertise, which makes the technology harder to introduce.

However, according to a report from SITA, over the next three years, approximately 38% of airports worldwide plan to implement at least one biometric token that gets passengers through all checkpoints, which is up from only 3% last year.

For more information, visit www.staralliance.com