As lines at TSA airport checkpoints within the US construct up at the tip of summer, one foreign airport goes 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 within 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 on the University of Illinois. Jacobson has been researching airport security for the reason that Nineteen Nineties and helped the TSA develop its pre-check program, which allows some travelers within 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 if an outage like Crowdstrike could cripple all-electronic boarding systems and convey travel to a halt. But Jacobson says that's a rare occurrence, and even when the system were to fail completely due to an outage, the online advantages of a biometric travel experience will outweigh the prices over time.

Zayed International Airport's program relies on a partnership with the federal government. The UAE Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security collects biometric data from every traveler arriving within the UAE for the primary time. The airport then uses this database to screen passengers passing through checkpoints. The airport didn’t reply 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, he said in a recent press release that the Biometric Smart Travel project “aims to enhance the travel experience at Zayed International Airport from curb to gate while ensuring 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 within the U.S., not less than not now. Whenever recent biometric programs are introduced, there’s “tremendous resistance,” he said.

Nevertheless, the US population appears to be increasingly comfortable with using biometric procedures at airports.

According to data analytics firm JD Power, a majority (53%) of respondents at a significant U.S. airport say biometrics at airports are an excellent idea or they’re willing to implement a biometric security check, with one other 12% saying it might be an excellent idea but having privacy concerns.

Concerns raised include what form of data should be provided during biometric capture and whether biometric security processes might be used to trace movement throughout the airport or whether biometric data might 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 creator 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 task in future airport visits, in the event that they aren't already. DuBravac sees biometrics at airports within the U.S. as a method of constructing 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, Comment by X in response to a video showing a traveler rushing through check-in at Abu Dhabi airport, saying the U.S. must “catch up.”

“Musk's comments are almost wishful thinking,” said Irina Tsukerman, a national security lawyer and fellow on the Arabian Peninsula Institute, noting that privacy concerns and costs would likely prevent the implementation of a completely biometric airport experience within 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 don’t 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 just not the case that there isn’t a biometric technology within the USA.

In 2018, LAX was considered one of the primary airports within the U.S. to check a biometric boarding process, and today it’s 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 incorporates LAX. There are as much as 4 biometric lanes at each international departure gate, and facial recognition technology could 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 near Abu Dhabi's goal of getting a completely biometric airport, many airports within the United States use not less than some biometrics. According to the TSA, the PreCheck option is currently available at greater than 200 airports with over 90 participating airlines across the country and features a voluntary facial recognition component. To be approved for PreCheck, participants fill out an internet form, pay a fee, undergo a background check and in-person interview, and might opt to have a facial recognition scan.

Clear, a publicly traded company, has also established itself in greater than 55 U.S. airports, allowing individuals 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 gaggle of lawmakers tried – but unsuccessfully – to limit Clear earlier this 12 months.

Travel technology provider Amadeus is just not involved in Abu Dhabi airport's biometric program, but has it in use at other airports resembling Dubai, Vancouver, Perth and London's Heathrow. Chris Keller, vice chairman of airport and airline operations at Amadeus, says airports may implement paper backups within the foreseeable future if there’s 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 identified 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 can probably be some time before you possibly can get from the check-in within the terminal to your seat on the plane just by showing your face.

From Monday, some passengers arriving at Singapore's Changi Airport will now not be required to present their passport upon entry.

As a part of a trial, Singaporeans arriving at Terminal 3 and using the lanes designated for the country’s recent token-less clearance program can can enter the country using biometric eye and facial recognition as a substitute of a passport, based on the country's Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.

For the needs of this system, “residents” include residents, everlasting residents and season ticket holders.

According to Singapore authorities, this system will probably be rolled out in all terminals at Changi Airport by September and at Singapore's Seletar Airport and the Marina Bay Cruise Centre by December 2024.

Under the brand new passportless immigration program, Singapore residents will now not be required to present their passports when entering and exiting the country at air and sea checkpoints.

Foreign nationals may also take part in this system, but only after they leave Singapore. Foreign travelers must also register their iris, facial and fingerprint data at manual immigration counters, based on Singapore's Immigration and Enforcement Department.

However, based on the authorities, children under the age of six are usually not allowed to make use of the biometric security checks or the automated control lanes when entering the country.

Passportless immigration clearance is an element of Singapore's broader “New Clearance Concept”, announced in May, which goals to modernise and automate immigration services within the country.

The concept, which authorities described as a “paradigm shift in border management,” effectively ends the era of human-led passport checks, a practice the city-state has been increasingly moving away from for years.

By early 2026, Singapore's immigration authorities expect that 95 percent of travelers will have the ability to go through automated screening lanes. The remaining 5 percent are those that are usually not eligible, akin to young children.

Although biometric processing is supported by someAccording to authorities, it is an element of Singapore's efforts to strengthen its border security while improving the travel experience. Immigration officials say the biometric scan will reduce waiting times at immigration by 40%.

About 85 percent of airports will use some type of biometric processing in the following three to 5 years, Sumesh Patel, Asia-Pacific president of SITA, told Squawk Box Asia in March.

The introduction of biometric-only processing is the second type of passport-free immigration processing now available in Singapore.

Since May, travellers on the island have been capable of use self-generated QR codes to enter and exit Singapore at two land checkpoints between Singapore and Malaysia.

A token – like A QR code is obligatory on the land borders, the authorities explained, because they’d no advance details about who desired to enter or leave Singapore.

Both programs are part of a bigger initiative to modernize border control procedures within the city-state to accommodate increasing travel volumes amid shortages of an aging workforce.

Meta agreed pay $1.4 billion settle a matter legal motion until State of Texas concerning the unauthorized use of users’ biometric data by the Facebook owner, Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton said on Tuesday.

The lawsuit, filed by Paxton in February 2022, accuses Meta of collecting and using the biometric data of hundreds of thousands of Texas residents – contained in photos and videos uploaded to Facebook – without the authorization required by law.

The attorney general's office said Facebook stored billions of biometric identifiers without customers' consent after the corporate introduced a brand new feature called “Tag Suggestions” in 2011.

“Unbeknownst to most Texans, for over a decade Meta ran facial recognition software on virtually every face in the photos uploaded to Facebook, recording the facial geometry of the people depicted,” Paxton's office said.

The office said Meta did so despite knowing that the Texas Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act prohibits corporations from collecting biometric identifiers from Texans without first informing them and obtaining their consent.

The settlement with Meta, filed in Texas District Court in Harrison County, is the biggest ever reached by a single state lawsuit, in keeping with Paxton's office.

Meta can pay the $1.4 billion to Texas over five years, the office said.

“This historic settlement demonstrates our commitment to standing up to the world's largest technology companies and holding them accountable for breaking the law and violating Texans' right to privacy,” Paxton said Tuesday in an announcement concerning the Meta case.

“Any misuse of sensitive Texans’ data will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Paxton said.

A Meta spokesperson told CNBC, “We are pleased to resolve this matter and look forward to exploring future opportunities to deepen our business investments in Texas, including potential data center development.”

Although the agreement was only announced on Tuesday, in keeping with The Guardian, it was reached almost two months ago, on the eve of the court hearing scheduled for June. McKool Smiththe law firm that represented Texas within the lawsuit, together with the law firm Keller Postman.

McKool Smith said Tuesday that the parties had asked the judge on the time to pause the proceedings to provide the parties a possibility to formalize the terms of the deal before it’s announced.

Paxton's office continues to pursue a lawsuit against alphabetduring which the Google owner is accused of illegally collecting biometric data from hundreds of thousands of Texans.