Lufthansa testing biometric boarding passes

Biometric systems in European airports are not new - hell, iris scanners have been in use for border control in Amsterdam's Schiphol airport since 2001. But now Lufthansa, never shy to push the edge of travel-easing technologies, is at it again with biometric boarding passes in hopes of increasing safety and accelerating the check-in process. Working with Siemens, fingerprints are scanned at check-in and printed as barcodes directly on the boarding pass. When boarding, the barcode is then confirmed against the actual fingerprint to verify the identify of the passenger. Currently, it is only being tested with non-fingerprint-sanding Lufthansa staff in Frankfurt but could be rolled out as a live system within the year.

[Tom @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I'm surprised that this has come out as "news" today with regard to Lufthansa. I took a flight from Frankfurt to Newark early this year and had my fingerprint scanned at the check-in window and scanned again at the gate - no long questioning took place at the second location, as it did in the first - sped things up greatly.

[Stephen Searer @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I don't really understand how this is better than the current system? Is there a huge problem with people switching tickets after check-in or something, or is checking i.d. just slow?

[Stephen Searer @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Nevermind #2, #1 answered my question.

[Sawhney89 @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

sweet... that is going to be awesome..

All airlines should adopt this type of service..

Fast..Quick...Secure(or is it?)

[David Talmage @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

No, thanks. I'll fly another airline instead of giving Lufthansa or any other corporation my fingerprint or any other biometric information.

[kyle @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

david talmage, take off your tinfoil hat. what the hell is wrong with giving someone your fingerprint?

[010111 @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

i landed in Skipole little over a year ago and i don't remember any iris scanning happening. just normal customs questions and the like. it was actually very very succinct too. like i was surprised they had no other questions. the AK->Canada border normally gives me more hassle than my DC->Amsterdam flight did.

[Cuba @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I assume the fingerprint record is deleted as soon as the person is scanned at the second counter.

[Jurgen @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

#7, that you didn't notice anything at Schiphol is because it's only (efficient) for frequent flyers -- you have to enroll at quite a fee. And you must have been quite asleep: If (...when?) you pass Customs, the iris scanning gates are to the side of the Customs desks.

And yes I'm of the posers that have enrolled. It's just great to bypass the long lines at the Customs desks; just enter your smartcard (! that has the biometric template of your, hopefully, two irises), approach the camera with either one eye and in usually only five seconds (not bluffing) it lets you through. It's so quick it makes one concerned how safe it is i.e. whether it checks anything at all ;-)