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Issue link: http://airportbusiness.epubxp.com/i/532707
TECH BYTES 30 airportbusiness June/July 2015 Hartmann says that pre-9/11 biometric tech- nology in airports was first seen in Amsterdam as a service to attract customers, where fliers could just as easily go to Brussels. Frequent fliers were encouraged to use the airport by priority access through immigration lines and other services such as parking and first-class check in, all with iris recognition. Today, 50,000 people use that service. He sees the passenger experience as one worth investing in. "Obviously this is a benefit to airports," he explains. "They would much rather have people spend time in retail and concessions than in immigration and security lines. Your frequent travelers will go to airports that provide services like Global Entry." On May 20, Miami International Airport began offering this competitive advantage, but for a price. CLEAR, a program that uses fingerprint or iris scans to confirm identification allows enrolled travelers to bypass long security waits through a separate "CLEAR" line. The airport is offering a two-month free trial, proceeded by a CLEAR membership of $179 with each additional family member $50 and children under 18, free. While members must still remove shoes, belts and all the usual procedures, they can sail through security in less than five minutes. The CLEAR CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker calls it the "ATM of identity." Passengers use a pre-approved biometric CLEAR card to expedite their airport process and at MIA, this capability is available in Concourses D, E, H and J. Miami International is actually the 12th airport in the country to integrate CLEAR; Orlando International Airport was the first several years ago. Other ways biometrics can improve the passenger experience is through automatic boarding, entrance to lounges such as the international lounge or airline frequent flier lounges. This also enhances security in those areas, and ensures that those who enter are absolutely qualified to do so. Bidwell remarks BIOMETRICS BEING TESTED AROUND THE COUNTRY A THREE- month test, "1:1 Facial Recognition Air Entry Pilot," spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and supported by Unisys, is underway at Washington Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia, using facial recognition to catch passport imposters. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers are randomly scanning approximately 400 people per day as the first part of this three-part pilot program called "Apex Air Entry and Exit Re-Engineering (AEER) Project." The second phase is called the "Pedestrian Biometric Experiment" and Customs and Border Patrol agents will begin collecting facial and iris scans of pedestrians crossing the border near San Diego, to confirm identities and look for people on government watch lists. Finally, the third part of the pilot program is slated to be hosted at Atlanta's Hartsfield- Jackson International Airport. For the "Biometric Exit (BE) Mobile Experiment" Customs and Border Protection officials will use a handheld biometric device to identify foreign nationals as they exit the country. They will use the information to search for a match and determine if they have overstayed their allowed time in the United States. There has been mixed response to these initiatives. A recent CBS interview revealed feelings from Jake Laperruque, a fellow at the Center for Democracy and Technology. "Here we have a program where individuals are not suspected of wrongdoing and are engaged in routine behavior," Laperruque explained. "And they are being required to submit a piece of biometric data that could identify them later and that's going to be retained. That's definitely a dark road to be going down with a lot of potential for abuse." In response, official objectives laid out by the AEER team are as follows: f To understand the current operations in entry points at airports across different airport environments and configurations. The analysis will include recommendations for introducing or enhancing technologies and/or modifications to existing processes to expedite screening. f To analyze potential approaches to meet the Congressional mandate for biometric entry and air exit. The challenge is to increase the ability to confirm the identity of persons entering and departing the U.S. while ensuring that processes are efficient and keep pace with growth in international air travel. f To develop tools that enable the analysis of the impacts of changes in traveler screening operations. All air entry/exit analysis, models, technology prototypes, and knowledge products will be transitioned to Customs and Border Protection for use after Apex AEER concludes. SITA reports fingerprint scanning systems are inexpensive and fairly easy to implement.