Iberia launches facial recognition app at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport

Iberia, along with the Spanish airports and air traffic control authority Aena, IECISA, Gunnebo and Thales companies, has unveiled a facial recognition pilot project at Iberia's hub in Terminal 4 at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, with the aim of improving customer experience at the airport by enabling customers to identify themselves at both general and fast-track security control and at the boarding gates with their biometric profile, eliminating the need to show travel documents.

The new system will be tested during a period lasting between six and twelve months with Iberia passengers bound for Asturias or Brussels, both destinations served with up to five daily Iberia flights. It is a pioneering project allowing users to register via an app on their mobile devices, and also available on the kiosks placed at check-in counter 848 and in front of the security control area of T4. The facial recognition system is also installed at T4 boarding gates J40 and J58. It is easy to sign up for this capability using the Iberia App and clicking on “Personal Area”. The user is asked to take a photograph of his or her photo ID, and then to take a brief “video selfie”, which allows system software to verify there is a good match between them. The biometric profile is then transmitted to the Aena database. Before the flight, customers will have to associate their boarding pass to Asturias or Brussels with its biometric profile, so that when they check-in online, the system will offer them the possibility of using facial recognition to go through security control and the boarding gate.