Iberia has rolled-out facial recognition boarding for passengers travelling to Asturias or Brussels. Credit: Iberia.

Spanish airline company Iberia has commenced trials of facial recognition enabled aircraft boarding at Terminal 4 of Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain.

The technology is expected to remove the need to produce travel documents.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

It is being trialled in collaboration with Spanish airport operator Aena, IECISA, Gunnebo, and Thales.

The trial will be carried out for six to 12 months and is been launched for passengers travelling with Iberia to Asturias or Brussels.

Passengers can register themselves with an app or kiosks at check-in counter 848 and the T4 security control area. In addition, the technology has been deployed at boarding gates J40 and J58 at T4.

Passengers can register themselves using the ‘Personal Area’ option within the Iberia app. They have to click pictures of their photo ID that is matched with their video selfie. The app then transfers the data to the AENA database.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Passengers will have to link their boarding pass to the biometric profile. This enables the system to enable facial recognition for security and boarding. Passengers will have to register only once during the trial.

In order to be eligible for the facial recognition trial, passengers will have to be of legal age. Those registering through the app should hold a v3.0 Spanish National Identity Document (DNI) and an Android phone.

Iberia CEO and chairman Gabriel Perdiguero said: “Facial recognition and the recording of biometric profiles via our application are a part of our project of connected operations and will enable our customers to have a better experience in T4, which is the main reason behind Iberia’s commitment to innovation.”

In September, Delta Air Lines deployed facial recognition technology to speed-up passenger clearance processes at Terminal 2 of Los Angeles International Airport in California, US.