Passengers of Air Canada have now been presented with the choice to use facial recognition technology when boarding certain flights, and Toronto Pearson International Airport travelers may soon be offered this choice. The airline publicized its new digital identification service, which is presently only accessible for Vancouver International Airport passengers on certain flights to Winnipeg, and entitled customers entering the Air Canada Cafe at Pearson.
A representative for Air Canada confirmed to CTV News Toronto that they are preparing to expand its facial recognition model to selected flights from Vancouver to Toronto very shortly, yet a precise date was not provided. However, starting Wednesday, they said it will increase testing at the local Maple Leaf Lounge inside Terminal 1 at the Toronto-based airport.
Many customers even now use digital authorizations to streamline their daily events such as unlocking mobile phones, authorizing entrance to workplaces, verifying credentials during financial dealings, and more Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Air Canada, Craig Landry, informed in a news statement, adding that the facial recognition technology is non-compulsory for their customers.
For individuals who choose to use this new technology, directions on generating their own secure digital “faceprint” will be offered to them before they reach the airport, and they can register for this offer on Air Canada’s app. The airline informed that the data is encoded, stored only on the user’s mobile phone, and necessitates added consent for the information to be used on the day of travel – which will be saved for up to 36 hours.
For those who do not, passengers can still hand over their boarding pass and government-issued photo ID as they have done so previously. Air Canada says it is the primary airline in the country to offer this kind of facility, and plans to increase digital identification decisions to select Canadian airports as part of its test project phase.
