Shannon Airport first in Europe to introduce facial recognition for US flights
Shannon Airport has become the first in Europe to introduce facial recognition technology for US preclearance.
The introduction of the new facial technology system in recent months has seen Shannon become the first airport outside the Americas to use facial biometrics to verify the identity of travellers about to enter the US.
The programme has already been successfully implemented in several US airports and was also extended to Aruba Airport in the Caribbean.
The technology verifies passengers by matching them to the documents they are presenting and is said to enhance security as well as speed up screening.
Airports in the US now processing up to ten people per minute with the new system.
The installation of the service is timely for Shannon, with the airport enjoying its busiest period on transatlantic operations for 17 years, with seven services to six destinations.
In 2009, Shannon became the first airport outside the Americas to have US preclearance and in 2016, it was the first airport in the world to operate a combined EU and US TSA checkpoint systems.
Operations Director at Shannon Airport, Niall Maloney, said: “Being the first airport in Europe to have this ground breaking technology installed reaffirms Shannon’s status in transatlantic aviation.
"We were the first to get preclearance and now we’re the first to pilot this technology.
Ultimately, the big gain here is that this the latest enhancement to passenger services at Shannon.
"We’re coming to the end of our busiest summer season on transatlantic since the early part of the last decade and anything that speeds up queues and enhances security is a major plus,” he said.
