TSA to test self-service facial recognition technology in the pilot program

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is now testing self-service facial recognition technology to verify passengers ID. Passengers will be required to insert their ID cards into the system with facial recognition capabilities as flights become operational amid COVID-19 pandemic.

The facial recognition system is launched at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport for testing. Instead of handing their IDs, passports or driving licenses to TSA officers, passengers will be inserting them into scanners. 

Passengers’ identities and flight information is verified by the device by comparing the photo of the passenger with the image on their ID. The agency announced that it won’t save the photographs of the passengers taken for the purpose of identity verification.

Facial recognition technology is readily adopted by various sectors ow including airports across the U.S. The travelling industry is struggling to offer enhanced travel experience through touchless verification due to ongoing pandemic.

Although this new self-service system will reduce the contact between the travellers and the agents, it won’t completely automate the process, yet. Officers will examine the results from the systems for now while staying behind the acrylic shields.

If the testing goes well, then the TSA intends to rapidly deploy the facial recognition technology.