In a single day this summer, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) broke the record for most people screened on a single day, screening 3 million passengers on July 7, 2024¹. It was the end of a long holiday weekend, and the airports across the United States would rarely screen that many passengers in one day, but to put things in perspective, that is screening 35 passengers per second!² Anyone traveling over the Christmas holidays may have experienced similar crowds. TSA posted on X that nearly 39M individuals were screened from Dec 19 through Jan 2, 2025, making it the busiest end-of-year holiday travel period ever!³ I was one of those holiday travelers, and with the growing number of people traveling by air, I got to thinking there must be a way to improve screening.

The frequent traveler will attest that TSA PreCheck® and Real ID created efficiencies and streamlined security processes; as a technologist deeply involved in airline travel, I firmly believe technology can expedite travel and keep our skies safe. Biometrics is one emerging technology that holds the potential to significantly reduce wait times and long lines and pave the way for a seamless and secure travel experience.

Biometrics

Post-Covid, air travel volumes have grown astronomically, Statista reports reports passenger demand grew over 36 percent, with 2024 forecasted to grow 12 percent more⁴. No one wants to spend their holidays waiting in long lines at the airport or miss an important business meeting due to wait times; the need for automation is no longer a nice to have but most certainly a need to have. When you arrive at the airport, to pass through security your identity must be validated. Security personnel compare the photo on the identification, to the person standing before them. It is a relatively straightforward process but it does take time to execute.

Whether reliant on your face, fingerprint, or eye, biometrics provide unique biological identifiers to validate your identity. A quick scan, and you're off to your flight. Although the technology has been slow to gain traction, it provides a level of security unmatched by traditional methods. In 2018, TSA released the "TSA Biometrics Strategy for Aviation Security & the Passenger Experience"⁵ to guide the use of biometrics while complying with the Aviation and Transportation Security Act⁶. Yet today, some six years later, biometrics for identity verification has been limited in deployment to airports across the United States.

Advancements in technologies, the increasing accuracies of biometric matching algorithms, widespread acceptance by the general public, the appeal of contactless travel, staffing efficiencies, and the meteoric growth of companies entering the biometric marketplace have made biometrics even more appealing for assisting with secure identity validation. The promise of a seamless travel experience is just a scan away.

So, what’s the hold-up?

In May 2024, a technical outage of the biometric passport control system threw airports throughout the UK into a tailspin⁷. The Border Force "e-gates" glitch caused a four-hour operational outage. Planes and passengers were stranded. Unhappy passengers took to social media to voice concerns. As far as outages go, UK airports were back in business relatively quickly, but the damage to biometrics in the eye of the public was done. But I am not willing to give up on biometrics adoption just yet. It’s worth noting that before the outage, e-gates streamlined border control processes and allowed passengers to pass through security checkpoints quickly.

Lord Foster of Bath, from the Lords Committee on Justice and Home Affairs, found the outage deeply concerning, stating,
"Technology invariably fails, but the eGates systems have experienced a number of problems recently. Border Force staff must be equipped and trained to deal with such situations when they arise. Minimizing disruption to passengers is important, but the security of the borders must remain the top priority."⁸

Further investigation revealed that a network outage caused the problem. To adopt biometric systems across airports, manual systems must be used as a failsafe⁹.

Two genuine fears, cybersecurity and privacy, add to the complexity of implementing a biometric system for identity verification. Cybersecurity breaches are increasing in frequency, and if biometrics are not implemented with appropriate security protocols, they could expose sensitive biometric data to nefarious actors. Individuals worry about how their personal information is stored and used. These fears can lead to adoption resistance and regulatory challenges, making widespread airport adoption difficult. Clear communication about data usage, storage, and protection would alleviate these concerns.

When a biometric system incorrectly matches a person's credentials with someone else's, it results in a false positive. Such errors can have serious consequences, including unauthorized access to personal information, misidentification of criminals, or potential bias in the system. There are countless studies and reports of bias using facial recognition technology, with disproportionally higher error rates when identifying people of color and women¹⁰.

Of course, biometric deployment would mean a significant investment. There would be hardware, software, and ongoing maintenance, not to mention integration with existing airport infrastructure and systems. Still, there is also a cost to keeping the status quo, as air travel is here to stay and growing.

Perhaps the most significant threat blocking the implementation of biometric technologies to protect our airways is Congress. The Traveler Privacy Protection Act is making its way through the legislature¹¹. If the law comes to fruition, it could prohibit biometric adoption. Unfortunately, airports would lose out on all the positive aspects of biometrics and remain stagnant in adopting technologies that have the potential to truly assist in air travel efficiencies.

Holiday travel may conjure up visions of sugar plums and Santa and visiting far-away family numbers, but it also signals a growing demand for efficient, secure travel solutions. Biometric technologies offer a promising way to streamline security processes and improve the travel experience. However, biometric implementation does have obstacles, including cybersecurity fears, privacy concerns, and potential legislative hurdles. I believe these hurdles can be overcome with clear communication, effective safeguards, and a commitment to ensuring fairness in technology, which can create a future where air travel is smoother and safer for all passengers.

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