Austrian Airlines and Vienna Airport implement contactless travel
Austrian Airlines and Vienna International Airport jointly introduce the biometric recognition system for contactless travel. Star Alliance Biometrics facilitates boarding without presenting your boarding pass and through security access quickly and without contact. This is an exclusive feature for Miles & More members. After a one-time registration via the Miles & More app and acceptance of the terms of use, frequent flyers can access boarding pass control and a selected contactless express boarding gate. A special infrastructure has been set up at the Vienna hub in Terminal 3. The biometric recognition system not only allows for greater travel comfort for frequent flyers, in the timing of rising hygiene standards, but also makes an important contribution to health protection. While facial recognition technology is not affected, they can keep the FFP2, mandatory inside the terminal.
“Optimizing travel processes is a top priority for us. With biometric technology, we can offer our frequent flyers greater travel comfort and contactless travel. Once registered, the free service can now be used for Austrian, Lufthansa and SWISS flights at our hub in Vienna as well as Munich and Frankfurt airports, ”says Michael Trestl, CCO of Austrian Airlines.
“Despite the crisis, we invest in innovative and digital solutions. Miles & More members can take off almost contactless in Vienna thanks to biometric technology. We are delighted to be one of three German-speaking airports offering this advanced service, ”says Julian Jäger, Joint CEO and COO of Vienna International Airport AG.
Star Alliance Biometrics an identification solution based on NEC I: Delight facial recognition technology from Japan’s NEC Corporation. It is available free of charge to all Miles & More members who have consented to the use of their biometric data. One-time registration via the Miles & More app can be done in just a few steps. During registration, members are asked to take a photo of themselves, confirm their identity with their passport and select the airlines and airports in which to use the service. Personal data such as photos and other identifying features are encrypted and securely stored within the platform. The system has been compliant with applicable data protection laws and is based on the latest facial recognition technology. The retention of personal data is limited to the minimum necessary. For example, no customer names are stored. One-time registration must be completed 24 hours prior to departure.
(Austrian Airlines Press Office – Photo credits: Austrian Airlines)