Digital identity enables seamless airport processing through biometric recognition and smartphone integration, allowing passengers to keep documents in pockets while verifying identity once for reuse across the journey. Passenger surveys indicate nearly 80pc desire smartphones to handle more tasks, rising to 90pc among younger generations, combining wallets, passports and loyalty programmes. ICAO Digital Travel Credential (DTC) provides an exact copy of biometric passport chip data, standardised globally for trust and interoperability, with pilots in Finland, Netherlands and EU digital identity wallet testing issuance and use by 2027.
Gabriel Marquie told the annual IATA Global Media Day in Geneva that digital identity extends beyond biometrics to pre-travel stages, enabling one-click passport details for bookings, personalised offers via digital cards, secure instant payments and advance visa checks. Alignment required among governments issuing credentials, ICAO standards and aviation’s One ID initiative for cross-border scale. Steps include US acceptance of digital passports at checkpoints, EU regional interoperability by 2026 and completion of DTC testing in wallets by 2027, positioning widespread adoption by decade end.
Inadmissible passengers, denied entry for reasons including improper documentation or fraud, numbered over 111,000 in 2024 across surveyed airlines handling 969m passengers, equating to 12 per 100,000. Airlines face fines up to €21,275 per case, plus costs for care, accommodation, escorts and rebookings. Digital identity mitigates this by allowing pre-departure document verification and government tokens confirming eligibility shared with airlines.
Integration of domestic and international passengers eliminates physical barriers using biometrics for logical segregation, enabling shared terminals, flexible gates and faster connections. Benefits include 20-30pc better asset utilisation reducing capital needs, lower operating expenses, increased aircraft turns, enhanced retail access and sustainability gains from reduced fuel use. Implementation progresses in stages from airport-specific enrolment to full data sharing, with interest from airports following study launch.
Key takeaways from the session included the increase of passenger demand for convenience driving digital adoption; DTC and wallet developments paving global standards; inadmissible reductions through advance checks lowering disruptions and costs; infrastructure efficiencies from passenger flow integration; and collaboration urgency among stakeholders to prioritise privacy, security and travel use cases.
Gabriel Marquie, Head Digital Identity, shared “Digital identity is the foundation because it enables the identity to be verified once and reused throughout the journey.”
Louise Cairney Head Customer Experience and Facilitation shared “Steps are being taken for the digital passport to be widely used by the end of the decade.”
Nick Careen, SVP Operations, Safety and Security shared “This is a no-brainer. It will make things better. It will make things faster. It is obvious.”
