Korean Air has launched biometric self-boarding at Seoul Gimpo Air, marking the first time the airline has introduced the service in Korea.
Passengers can now pass through Korean Air’s domestic boarding gates at Gimpo Airport with a scan of their palms, and will not need to present an actual boarding pass.
The palm vein scan will allow the airline to immediately check the passenger’s identification and boarding pass information without checking a paper or mobile boarding pass.
The palm scanning device recognises the passenger by matching their pre-registered palm vein information, which is unique to each person. Palm vein biometric information, which cannot be stolen, duplicated or lost, is expected to increase efficiency and strengthen security of the identity verification process, and significantly reduce flight boarding times.
The service is available to Korean citizens seven years of age or older. To use the biometric self-boarding service, passengers need to register their palm vein information at the self-registration desk on the departure floor of Gimpo Airport, which can be done upon presenting an ID card and providing consent to the use of their personal information.
Korean Air in partnership with Korea Airports Corporation have been testing the system required to launch the biometric self-boarding service since last August.
The airline plans to expand the service to all domestic route departure gates at Gimpo Airport by the end of the year, and to Busan Gimhae Airport in August this year.
Korean Air is actively introducing biometric information-based technologies, the core of IATA’s One ID initiative, such as through the offering of facial recognition services provided by overseas airports authorities in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York and Singapore. One ID is an integrated identification initiative using passengers’ biometric information to achieve interoperable system coordination between airports, airlines and governments around the world.
Korean Air plans to provide a more convenient experience to customers by expanding biometric self-boarding services domestically as well as to international flights.
