Imagine breezing through airports with just a fingerprint scan or a quick facial recognition check. Say goodbye to long queues, outdated paper documents, and the stress of lost passports. In this fascinating world of digital travel, biometrics reshape how we jet-set.

So please fasten your seat belts as we embark on a journey to unlock the future of travel with the power of biometrics.

In 1930, only around 6,000 passengers were traveling by air. By 1934, this had risen to just under 500,000*. Fast-forward to 2019, and it had exploded to 4 billion travelers. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) projects 8 billion air travelers annually by 2040. The demand for air travel is booming.

To prepare for this, 425 major construction projects (worth around US$450 billion) were underway at existing global airports. According to the Center for Aviation, the industry also invested in 225 new airport projects in 2022. Bricks-and-mortar infrastructure is only part of the solution, though. Without state-of-the-art, adaptable digital solutions, airlines and airports will struggle to manage passenger numbers, which will affect the quality of the travel experience they’re able to deliver.

A just-released Biometrics White Paper, ‘Face the Future,’ highlights how the surge in air traveler numbers places extraordinary pressure on existing and new airports, national borders, and airline resources. In short, “existing paper-based and manual travel infrastructure and legacy processes simply won’t be able to cope.”

The solution is harnessing the power of facial and fingerprint biometrics to create a smoother, safer, and slicker air transport experience. By applying advanced technological solutions, SITA will also solve other industry challenges, such as space constraints, specialist staff shortages, and evolving passenger wants and needs.

Studies like the Star Alliance Biometric initiative and the Indian government’s DigiYatra program use an end-to-end biometric passenger processing solution called Smart Path.

The white paper then outlines more solutions using advanced biometrics technology. These include SITA Flex, a common-use passenger processing platform, and SITA Border Management, which covers border control, risk intelligence, and travel authorization. Both solutions are well recognized today and are used by more than 40 airports globally. The white paper also breaks down SITA’s Digital Travel Credentials (DTC) solution, a hotly anticipated verifiable digital identity shared before arrival (with the passenger’s consent) for seamless border crossing.

As a member of both the IATA’s One ID initiative and the International Civil Aviation Organization’s DTC, SITA is leading the way in rolling out border-grade DTCs.

They’re also helping define rigorous standards around passenger identity management within biometrics. An exciting example is how SITA DTCs were used to create Aruba’s Happy One Pass. This collaboration lets passengers arriving at the Caribbean island nation of Aruba “can now disembark at international arrivals and cross the border without stopping or even showing a travel document”.

The future of air travel is clearly outlined in the white paper – one that’s safe, ethical, and fully embraces biometrics. It emphasizes the need to prioritize privacy, flexibility, and adaptability.

The white paper’s release, along with its case studies and insights, reveals that the future of travel isn’t some distant concept anymore. It’s happening now. The global demand for travel is rising, and biometrics is at the forefront of this transformation.