Miami International Airport (MIA) has announced that it will soon implement biometric boarding at over 130 gates throughout the airport.
Installation is expected to be fully completed in 2023. When finished, the project will be the largest implementation of biometric technology at any U.S. airport.
“We look forward to elevating our passenger experience with this state-of-the-art boarding solution. MIA is now the busiest U.S. airport for international travel and continues to set new records each month for passenger growth. Biometric boarding is one of the major steps we are taking to pave the way for additional growth in the years to come,” Ralph Cutié, Director and CEO, MIA.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava also commented: “The launch of biometric boarding at MIA is the latest way that Miami-Dade County is leveraging technology to improve customer service and simplify operations. I am proud to see our airport lead the nation with this cutting-edge innovation that will streamline the boarding process for our passengers.”
Using SITA’s Smart Path solution, which leverages NEC’s biometric identity platform, passengers will simply step up to a camera at the boarding gate and their picture is used to confirm their identities and their authorisation to travel within seconds. MIA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) first tested biometric boarding in 2019 during a pilot program with select airlines, with a significant improvement in boarding times.
MIA’s launch of biometric boarding follows its airport-wide expansion in 2020 of Simplified Arrival, CBP’s enhanced process for international arrivals that uses facial biometrics to automate the manual document checks required for admission into the U.S.
Matthys Serfontein, President of Americas, SITA: “Globally we see that passengers want a faster journey through the airport where key steps in the journey are automated. Our Smart Path biometric solution will enable future expansion to other touchpoints at MIA as well as the use of multiple forms of digital identity.”
Hear more from Miami Airport’s Director Information Systems and Telecommunications Maurice Jenkins on the airport’s biometric strategy in our recent FTE webinar on Next Generation Border Entry with Biometrics. Watch the full webinar on-demand here.
