SITA has won the Aviation Technology Achievement at Air Transport World’s 2018 Annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards for its work with jetBlue and the US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) to deliver a new self-boarding process using biometric technology at Boston’s Logan International Airport.
In a world-first, the biometric boarding system uses just a facial scan to board passengers while also completing the US customs and border exit checks.
Working with jetBlue and the CBP at Boston Logan Airport, SITA demonstrated that biometric technology can reduce friction points in the airport experience including at boarding, where integrating checks with government systems is one of the hardest challenges to solve.
The technology removes the need for boarding pass scanning and passport checks; passengers just look into the camera for a quick photo.
The integration of the airline and government systems by SITA showed how passengers can have a seamless experience, and demonstrated how airlines and government border agencies can work together to enhance security.
Barbara Dalibard, CEO of SITA, said: “Our vision is to make air travel easy, for airlines, airports and, ultimately, for passengers. Integrating biometrics with the industry’s existing infrastructure, IT systems and processes, along with multiple security and border control systems, can be complex but it delivers a remarkably simple solution. Our work with jetBlue and the US CBP shows how SITA delivers secure and seamless travel to the industry today.”
Dalibard added: “The ATW Airline Industry Achievement Awards recognize excellence in the air transport industry, looking in particular at outstanding performance, innovation and superior service. I am very proud that the innovative work of the SITA team has won this award and would like to thank our partners, in particular jetBlue, for recognizing our expertise to develop this technology for them.”
