Last summer, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) intercepted an imposter posing as a French citizen at Washington Dulles International Airport.
The CBP used facial comparison biometric technology to identify the man who was traveling from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and presented a French passport. The CBP officer used facial comparison biometric technology to confirm the man did not match the passport he presented. After further investigation, the officer discovered a concealed Republic of Congo identification card in the man's shoe.
Biometric technologies use body and behavior to confirm identity and include fingerprint scans, retina scans and facial recognition. The technology was only in the third day of operation before identifying the man as an imposter.
Airport screening is still a problem for U.S. airports as a new survey of 1,000 Americans conducted by Wakefield Research found that despite current security measures, about three in five Americans have boarded a plane without proper identification. More than half of these passed through security using a form of ID that doesn't include a picture.
Biometric technology improves airport security and security screen throughput for passengers, and its potential is evident from CBP testing.
Acuity market research forecasts that biometric airport automation will generate $1.3 billion in revenue over the next five years as more than 16,300 electronic security gates and kiosks are deployed for automated check-in, automated bag drop, passport control, security checkpoints and boarding by 2022.
Wakefield Research's survey found Americans are ready to embrace biometric security screening. The survey found that 84% of Americans feel that biometrics will improve traveler’s airport experience and increase safety over current identification methods. More than half of respondents said biometrics will improve speed and efficiency in security lines.
While the CBP is testing facial recognition technology in 14 airports in the U.S., Europe is expected to dominate the airport biometric rollout in the next five years, accounting for nearly 30% of total units deployed and generating more than 34% of all revenues, according to Acuity research. However, the market research firm expects rapid growth in Asia by the 2028 or 2030 time frame.
