Facial recognition check-in now available from Miami Airport

Lufthansa is the first airline to replace boarding passes with cameras on flights from Miami. Thanks to SITA biometric check-in technology, passengers from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Munich, Germany, on Lufthansa flight 461, can now board with a simple « click » of a camera. This technology has been available since February 1st in place of a boarding pass or passport.

Thanks to a partnership between Miami Airport, Lufthansa, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and SITA, a global provider of IT solutions for air transport, a simple photo taken at the German company’s boarding gates confirms the identity of passengers and issues a travel authorization.

According to CBP, the facial recognition verification process takes less than 2 seconds, with a 99 % match rate. Miami International Airport plans to open biometric boarding to other airlines this year.