Orlando International Airport is the first U.S. airport to add facial recognition to its automated passport control (APC) kiosks.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) updated the requirements for APC kiosks located at borders to require facial recognition capabilities in June. The upgraded kiosks compare the traveler's face with the biometric information in their e-passport, reported Biometric Update.
While many airline passengers welcome additional security measures, presumably few would be satisfied to spend more time waiting in lineups for their sake. Paul Houghton, SITA president of Americas said the kiosks have reduced lines by up to 40 percent.
“Now, there is added security as the CBP requires facial biometrics to be matched to the e-passport being presented,” Houghton said. “Almost 500 million e-passports have been issued globally; these hold facial biometrics while some also contain fingerprints. Our SITA APC kiosks comply with all the latest requirements and help bolster more efficient security checks at the airports.”
McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas is among the airports to have installed SITA APC kiosks this year, which it did in April, as Miami International Airport was ordering 44 of its own.
