• The Smart Travel project at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi plans to install biometric sensors at all identification checkpoints at the airport by 2025.
• Privacy concerns have hampered efforts to widely adopt biometrics in the United States, but Elon Musk said the country needs to “catch up.”

As lines at TSA airport checkpoints in the US build up at the end of summer, one foreign airport is going all-in on the biometric passenger experience. The Smart Travel Project at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi will introduce biometric sensors at every identification checkpoint in the airport by 2025.

Airport security and travel experts generally welcomed the move.

“They are boldly moving forward by using facial recognition as a means to allow travelers access to their system, and I commend them for doing so,” said Sheldon Jacobson, a professor of engineering and computer science at the University of Illinois. Jacobson has been researching airport security since the 1990s and helped the TSA develop its pre-check program, which allows some travelers in the U.S. to bypass checkpoints. “Facial recognition is the future, and we’re going to start making airport security smarter and focusing on the traveler instead of the items they’re carrying. By doing so, we’re creating a different paradigm,” Jacobson said. “What they’re doing in Abu Dhabi is just the beginning, but it has to start somewhere.”

The move to paperless travel from parking garages to seatback tables is worrying for some, who wonder whether an outage like Crowdstrike could cripple all-electronic boarding systems and bring travel to a halt. But Jacobson says that’s a rare occurrence, and even if the system were to fail completely because of an outage, the net benefits of a biometric travel experience will outweigh the costs over time.

Zayed International Airport’s program is based on a partnership with the government. The UAE Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security collects biometric data from every traveler arriving in the UAE for the first time. The airport then uses this database to screen passengers passing through checkpoints. The airport did not respond to a request for comment on its plans. Saeed Saif Al Khaili, director general of the UAE Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, said in a recent press release that the Biometric Smart Travel project is designed to “enhance the travel experience at Zayed International Airport from curb to gate and ensure a high level of security.”

Jacobson says the TSA tends to make changes more slowly and incrementally, and the UAE’s political system allows for faster implementation of programs. So this all-encompassing biometric collection probably wouldn’t work in the U.S., at least not now. Whenever new biometric programs are introduced, there is “tremendous resistance,” he said.

Nevertheless, the US population seems to be increasingly comfortable with the use of biometric procedures at airports.

According to data analytics firm JD Power and Associates, a majority (53%) of respondents at major U.S. airports say biometric systems at airports are a good idea or that they are willing to implement a biometric security check. Another 12% say they are a good idea but have privacy concerns.

Concerns raised include what type of data must be provided during biometric capture and whether biometric security processes will be used to track movement throughout the airport or whether biometric data will be used outside the airport.

“To further expand the technology and enable airports and travelers to use it, airports should establish clear policies and processes and educate travelers on potential uses. Traveler consent is critical,” said Mike Taylor, senior managing director of travel, hospitality and retail at JD Power.

Shawn DuBravac, futurist and author of “Digital Destiny: How the New Age of Data Will Transform the Way We Work, Live and Communicate,” believes biometrics will transform travel. “While we’re seeing increased use of biometric sensors to simplify travel, the vision of a completely paperless travel experience by next year is incredibly ambitious,” he said.

Travel veterans generally agree that some aspect of biometrics will play a role in future airport visits, if they aren’t already. DuBravac sees biometrics at airports in the U.S. as a means of making the human factor more responsive.

“Instead of dealing with mundane tasks like document verification, staff can provide better customer service, assist travelers with special needs and ensure that the overall passenger experience is efficient and enjoyable. Automating routine processes will enable a more human experience,” he said.

Billionaire Elon Musk praised Zayed’s innovation and commented on X that the U.S. needed to “catch up” in response to a video showing a traveler rushing through check-in at Abu Dhabi airport.

“Musk’s comments are almost wishful thinking,” said Irina Tsukerman, a national security lawyer and fellow at the Arabian Peninsula Institute, noting that privacy concerns and costs would likely prevent the implementation of a fully biometric airport experience in the U.S.

“This worked in Abu Dhabi because the UAE is a small, wealthy monarchy where the population has a high level of trust in the government and has enough resources for technical innovation,” Tsukerman said. In the U.S., these conditions do not exist. “The transition to full automation for all eligible travelers will be time-consuming, laborious and expensive, and will face resistance from airport unions,” she said.

Even though Musk criticizes American airports, it is not the case that there is no biometric technology in the USA.

In 2018, LAX was one of the first airports in the U.S. to test a biometric boarding process, and today it is used as an option for eligible passengers.

“At LAX, we are using biometrics to help our partner airlines and federal agencies speed up the boarding process for international departures,” said Ian Law, chief digital transformation officer at Los Angeles World Airports, which includes LAX. There are up to four biometric lanes at each international departure gate, and facial recognition technology can be used for contactless, paperless screening of travelers.

“Airlines can significantly reduce the time it takes to board an aircraft, thereby reducing the waiting time for travelers,” Law said.

While no U.S. airport comes close to Abu Dhabi’s goal of having a fully biometric airport, many airports in the United States use at least some biometrics. According to the TSA, the PreCheck option is currently available at more than 200 airports with over 90 participating airlines across the country and includes a voluntary facial recognition component. To be approved for PreCheck, participants fill out an online form, pay a fee, undergo a background check and in-person interview, and can opt to have a facial recognition scan.

Clear, a publicly traded company, has also established itself in more than 55 U.S. airports, allowing people who pay a fee and undergo pre-screening to skip lines and board biometrically. The service has discouraged some lawmakers from adopting a tiered system for travelers, and in California a group of lawmakers tried – but unsuccessfully – to restrict Clear earlier this year.

Travel technology provider Amadeus is not involved in Abu Dhabi airport’s biometric program, but has it in use at other airports such as Dubai, Vancouver, Perth and London’s Heathrow. Chris Keller, vice president of airport and airline operations at Amadeus, says airports may implement paper backups in the foreseeable future if there is a technological issue. “We expect more and more passengers to use biometrics, but there will always be a group, perhaps those who need special assistance or premium passengers, who will opt for an agent-assisted experience and prefer a paper document,” Keller said.

Jacobson said potential criminals are deterred by knowing their faces in an airport biometric system. “Once the person is known, it has a deterrent effect and lowers the risk,” he said. But he also pointed out that Musk’s comments lack context. “It’s not that we’re behind, this is a gradual process of growth and development,” he said. “We’re not going to get it done this week. It takes a certain level of will and proof of concept.”

For example, when PreCheck-in was introduced in 2011, it took eight years from proposal to implementation.

“People don’t mind change. If we’re going to make changes, we need to make them more efficient, safer and less intrusive,” Jacobson said.

In the US, it will probably be a while before you can get from the check-in in the terminal to your seat on the plane just by showing your face.