Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) in China has installed SITA’s Smart Path biometric solution to provide a new contactless experience to its passengers.
Using the technology, the world’s second busiest airport has automated the entire passenger journey, including check-in and bag drop through to immigration, security and boarding.
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Following an initial enrolment check-in, facial recognition allows passengers to experience a seamless journey through the airport. This improved processing efficiency allows for shorter wait times.
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the technology ensures reduced risk of infection and increased social distancing practices for all passengers.
SITA Smart Path has proved to speed passenger processing at BCIA while enabling contactless Duty Free payments.
The technology enables passengers to use their face as their boarding pass, reducing physical touchpoints and improving the customer experience.
The deployment included the implementation of over 600 biometric checkpoints at BCIA, including 250 lanes of automatic gates, 80 kiosks and 30 self-bag drop stations.
The biometric technology has currently been activated across multiple checkpoints, including manual check-in, self-service check-in, bag drop, restricted access, security and boarding.
SITA APAC president Sumesh Patel said: “Automation is more important than ever in this Covid-19 environment to better enable social distancing and passenger flow without compromising processing times.
“The BCIA implementation is our most comprehensive deployment of next-generation technology and signposts growing interest from the market to automate and optimise airport operations through smart technology.
“With Duty Free shopping now also optimised by SITA Smart Path we’re beginning to uncover the full potential of biometrics to boost passenger safety, convenience and confidence, in turn helping the air transport industry to recover and evolve.”
