Fit to fly with one identity in Africa

Airlines are working with IATA to digitalise the passenger experience at airports with contactless biometric enabled processes by a new industry standard. It is termed the One ID initiative.

The new industry standard has been developed by the International Air Transport Association, which is the voice of the world’s airports. The aim of the standard is to make travellers arrive at airports and ready to fly.

The standard is called Recommended Practice on Digitalisation of Admissibility. Travellers will now be able to digitally prove that they are admissible to an international destination. Checking documents at check-in desks or boarding will be done away with.

Deployment of biometrics and digital identity technology has the capacity to create a safer, more seamless, and contactless passenger experience. And the need for a passport or boarding pass is reduced.

AENA is an airport operator company that manages 69 airports around the world. In their own words: “No more placing fingers in readers as with the older-generation gates; just smile at your laptop or check-in terminal! This unique biometric identifier will stay with you until your departure, there will be no infringement whatsoever of the regulatory framework”.

In their deployment of biometrics, the pilot phases were incremental. They added a new use case in each new pilot, until achieving a full biometric journey from home to the boarding gate .

This is touchless and less intrusive than other types of biometric recognition. As a result, this token allows passengers to go through various airport touchpoints just showing their faces, without needing to show ID documents or boarding pass. (International Airport Review, August, 2022).

However, in many cases, passengers are still expected to prove that they are admissible at a check-in desk or boarding gate. Physical checks will then be carried out on such things as passports, visas, health credentials, amongst others.

So, the new standard will move forward the realisation of the One ID initiative. A system will be put in place for passengers to digitally obtain all pre-travel authorisations directly from governments before their trip. An “OK to Fly” status will now be shared by travellers with their airline and hence avoid checking of all documents at airports.

Nick Careen, IATA’s senior vice president for operations, safety and security, said: “Passengers want technology to make travel simpler. By enabling passengers to prove their admissibility to their airline before they get to the airport, we are taking a major step forward. The recent IATA Global Passenger survey found that 83% of travellers are willing to share immigration information for expedited processing. That is why we are confident this will be a popular option for travellers when it is implemented. And there is good incentive for airlines and governments as well with improved data quality, streamlined resourcing requirements and identification of admissibility issues before passengers get to the airport.”

In future, passengers will now be able to: Create a verified digital identity using their airline app on their smartphone, send proof of all required documentation to destination authorities in advance of travel using their digital identity, receive a digital ‘approval of admissibility’ in their digital identity/passport app, share the verified credential (not all their data) with their airline and receive confirmation from their airline that all is in order and go to the airport.

In addressing the challenge of data security, Louise Cole, IATA’s head of customer experience and facilitation said: “Travellers can be confident that this process will be both convenient and secure. A key point is that information is shared on a need-to-know basis. While a government may request detailed personal information to issue a visa, the only information that will be shared with the airline is that the traveller has a visa and under which conditions. And by keeping the passenger in control of their own data, no large databases are being built that need protecting. By design we are building simplicity, security and convenience.”

Now, some recent developments were reported prior to this news release. For instance, at the ICAO 41st Assembly, one of the decisions/conclusions was that an IATA WP/73 on the challenges facing airlines due to conflicting national data protection legislation and the absence of an agreed, consistent data protection framework that accounts for specificities of international air transport, was adopted.

Across Africa, the government of Mozambique has developed an online platform for the issuance of e-Visas to tourists and businessmen by the end of October 2022. Also, in South Africa, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has informed the aviation community of its electronic visa system (e-Visa) implementation, which is being piloted in Nigeria, reports AFRAA, the voice of African airlines.

So, the passenger experience is bound to change with these innovations. The African aviation industry should therefore look ahead and manage these changes by tracking these developments and learning from those airport operators who have started deployment. There is no need to repeat the mistakes made by others. The industry stakeholders need to anticipate how their organisations might use and respond to these new technology trends. Also they need to understand the factors that affect innovation and adoption of these new technologies with a view to meeting their requirements and reaping value from them.

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