Using facial recognition to enter and exit an international airport through customs isn’t a sci-fi anymore. The Orlando International Airport, Florida’s busiest airport is the first in the nation to use biometrics at both the exit and entry for travelers. The announcement comes from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA).
“We are at a critical turning point in the implementation of a biometric entry-exit system, and we’ve found a path forward that transforms travel for all travelers,” said CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan. “The valuable collaboration with stakeholder partners like GOAA has resulted in real momentum and it has brought us to where we are today, the first fully biometric entry-exit deployment at an airport.”
According to CBP, their technology is 99% accurate and takes less than 2 seconds to match a photo with the scanned face. The reason they selected facial recognition out of the biometrics programs researched is that the photographs for comparison are already in the hand through data from the Department of Homeland Security.
However, the American Civil Liberties Union doesn’t think facial recognition will be a good thing for the travelers’ privacy. The technology may not be reliable and can be used against someone outside 0of the airport.
Airports in New York, Miami, Las Vegas and some other cities are currently in the testing phase. You can expect Orlando airport’s biometric system to be fully operational by the end of this year.
