JetBlue Airways is working on a new facial-recognition system designed to allow travelers to clear a passport check and board their plane without ever presenting a boarding pass or other document.
A trial of the technology is set to take place in Boston starting this month, but only on flights to Aruba. Although conventional boarding will still be available, passengers who want to try the new system can decide to do so as they board without any prior registration, according to JetBlue.
If you decide to try it out, you'll step up to a camera in the boarding area that will snap a headshot and then send it to US Customs and Border Patrol. The agency's computers will match your face to its database of passport, visa, and immigration photos. Assuming CBP clears you, your data will then be transferred to JetBlue, and you'll be permitted to board the plane.
The process is designed to prevent employees from having to manually check passports and scan boarding passes at the gate, although JetBlue agents will still be on hand during the trial period to monitor the cameras and assist passengers as necessary. If the trial is successful, it could eliminate one of the many parts of the airport experience that are painful for travelers—JetBlue euphemistically refers to them as "friction points."
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"We hope to learn how we can further reduce friction points in the airport experience, with the boarding process being one of the hardest to solve," Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue's executive vice president of customer experience said in a statement. "Self-boarding eliminates boarding pass scanning and manual passport checks. Just look into the camera and you're on your way."
But despite the promise of facial-recognition technology (and its depiction in Hollywood movies as a way to sniff out criminals), it is far from perfect. Samsung, for instance, offers face detection as a way for Galaxy S8 owners to unlock their phones, but notes that it is less secure than locking your phone with a PIN or password.