Passengers travelling on select Air Canada flights between Vancouver and Winnipeg international airports can now opt to create a biometric digital ID on their NFC smartphone that they can then use to verify their identity with their face when travelling through the airports.

Air Canada is also trialling the contactless biometric authentication technology for passengers wishing to gain access to its Air Canada Café at Toronto Pearson International Airport prior to a planned expansion of the pilot programme “to select Canadian airports and Maple Leaf Lounges”.

To use the service, passengers first need to create a digital ID on the Air Canada mobile app by uploading an image of their passport, scanning its NFC chip and then adding a selfie in order to generate a faceprint that can then be used to verify their identity.

A short video shows how the Air Canada digital ID system works.

“Many of our customers already utilize digital credentials to simplify their daily activities such as unlocking mobile phones, entering workplaces, verifying identification during financial transactions and more,” Air Canada’s Craig Landry says.

“We are very excited to now take a leadership position in Canada and test digital identification using facial recognition technology to validate customer identification quickly, securely and accurately at select airport touchpoints.

“Participation in digital identification is voluntary. Customers choosing to use digital identification will benefit from a simplified and seamless process at the gate and when entering our Maple Leaf Lounges.”

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