June 01--Passengers flying JetBlue Airways from Boston to Aruba can soon opt for a paperless and deviceless self-boarding process using facial-recognition technology under a pilot program with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Logan International Airport's largest airline will start the first-of-its-kind biometrics boarding procedure, which doesn't require a boarding pass or passport, on June 12, for the daily 7:12 a.m. flights to Queen Beatrix International Airport in Aruba.
The trial will run 45 to 90 days, depending on how it proceeds.
Travelers opting in will use a separate lane, wher a camera at the gate will take their photo using technology by Swiss IT provider SITA that's integrated with JetBlue's departure control system and will transmit the photos to Customs. Customs will verify the passengers' identities by matching their photos against their passport, visa or immigration photos in its database. A screen above the camera will notify the passenger when there's a positive match and they're cleared to proceed to the plane's jet bridge to board.
"We hope to learn how we can further reduce friction points in the airport experience, with the boarding process being one of the hardest to solve," Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue's executive vice president of customer experience, said in a statement. "Self-boarding eliminates boarding pass scanning and manual passport checks. Just look into the camera, and you're on your way."
The hope is that facial-recognition technology will speed the boarding process, JetBlue spokeswoman Danielle Sandars said.
"In current testing that we've been doing, it's been very quick," Sandars said, noting it frees up crew members from behind computers to interact and help passengers get on the plane.
If the program is successful, so-called biometric exits from the country also could enhance national security, according to JetBlue. Customs did not respond to Herald inquiries for comment.
But the pilot program raises red flags with Jeramie Scott, national security counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a nonprofit, Washington, D.C., public interest research center focused on emerging privacy and civil liberties issues. The test poses a serious risk of "mission creep" given there are no regulations in place to stop the expansion of the facial recognition surveillance, according to Scott, who also directs EPIC's Domestic Surveillance Project.
"Will the program be used to merely verify customers, or will the facial recognition search become akin to a law enforcement search -- treating all travelers like suspects?" Scott said. "It is essential that transparency is implemented into this pilot program and public input is sought. Facial recognition can easily be used for indiscriminate mass surveillance that undermines our constitutional rights."
