US: Biometrics could replace boarding passes on international flights within 4 years

Dan Tanciar, a top official with the US Customs and Border Protection Agency, said that biometrics for international travellers, which allow passengers to board a flight or clear passport control via a photo, is right around the corner. “Our goal is to have this in place over the next four years,” said Tanciar, who is a deputy executive director of the Customs and Border Protection agency. The plan is to begin with international flights then expand to domestic, he added. “On inbound international travel, you’ll be able to leave the passport in your pocket,” he added. Tanciar says biometrics at the airport works by matching the picture the government already has, your passport photo, with a new image generated at the airport. Using biometric technology for domestic flights will take longer to implement, he says, because the TSA doesn’t have the same kind of national database of photos as the US government does with passports. Each state would have to come together to merge their driver’s license IDs. Three airlines are currently testing limited biometric entry: JetBlue, British Airways and Delta at airports in Boston, Atlanta and Los Angeles, but passports are still involved.<br/>