U.S. Customs and Border Protection has deployed facial recognition biometric exit technology at Washington Dulles International Airport for one daily flight to Dubai (DXB).
This deployment expands on a pilot program previously conducted at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. CBP intends to extend the biometric exit technology to additional airports during the summer months.
“CBP has been working closely with airline and airport stakeholders to test biometric exit technology and as a result has developed a viable exit solution based on facial recognition,” said Kevin McAleenan, acting commissioner. “This process, now being deployed to Washington Dulles International Airport, enhances our security while continuing to facilitate legitimate travel.”
For each monitored flight, CBP generates a flight-specific photo gallery from the travel document images passengers provided to the airline. At boarding, the agency captures a live photo and uses facial recognition to compare it to the document image to verify that the traveler is the document holder. If a live boarding photo successfully matches a United States passport image, the traveler is classified as out of scope for biometric exit purposes and that boarding photo is discarded. The system is designed with privacy protections for all travelers.
In related developments, JetBlue recently announced a partnership with CBP and SITA to trial a paperless, device-free self-boarding process as part of ongoing efforts to implement biometric exit procedures.