WestJet has partnered with Canadian telecommunications company TELUS on a trial of ‘Trusted Boarding’, a touchless, facial recognition technology that verifies travellers’ identity prior to boarding their flight.
The historic, first trial of its kind in Canada took place 25NOV at YYC at Gate 88 for pax boarding WestJet flight 8901. Travellers boarded the flight through facial verification with their digital identity wallet on Embross' Canadian-made biometric hardware and boarding application.
"The travel experience is evolving to include many touchless processes and WestJet is innovating to ensure our guests' travel journey improves to become more seamless and efficient, while prioritizing safety above all," said Stuart McDonald, Executive Vice-President and Chief Information Officer.
"The Trusted Boarding trial is a union between technology and WestJet that would in the future help our agents and our guests with contactless document validation."
And, according to the carrier, the trial of Trusted Boarding did successfully demonstrate that “the responsible use of biometric boarding technology provides sufficient document validation and prevents non-authorized individuals from boarding an aircraft.”
Trusted Boarding is a Canadian technology innovation. A TELUS-provided digital wallet app for IOS or Android smartphones uses unique, private and secure connections between the customer and the airline in a contactless document validation, where a facial verification scan is matched with a traveller's documentation that has been uploaded to the app prior to boarding.
Importantly, according to TELUS and WestJet, the app ensures users retain control of their personal information at all times, meaning they can securely share their verified personal credentials and revoke access when the data is no longer needed.
The companies say the solution follows all data protection and privacy regulations.
"Our groundbreaking, built in Canada solution allows travellers to enjoy a secure, touchless identity verification experience, while ensuring they are able to maintain control of their personal data," said Ibrahim Gedeon, Chief Technology Officer, TELUS.
"This level of control establishes and increases consumer trust by addressing privacy, security, and ethical data risks from the start, while providing transparency to customers."
The trial marked the first step towards the implementation of the technology as WestJet works with the Government of Canada to seek full approval for its use as a safe and secure alternative for future WestJet boarding at Canadian airports.
There was no indication when the facial recognition technology may be widely implemented across the WestJet network.
