Biometric authentication, including facial recognition, is becoming commonplace, and technological advances are changing the way travelers move through airports, which advocates say will improve security and cut processing times.
“This is the future. It's much more effective than the manual comparison. It's better for security,” TSA Administrator David Pekoski told “CBS Mornings.” “It's going to be more efficient.”
Delta Airlines and United Airlines are currently testing biometric baggage screening systems, with United Airlines verifying people's faces by matching them with passport photos passengers have saved in the airline's app – the company says the images are not stored.
“The future of travel is absolutely biometrics. You know, it saves time,” said David Terry, who oversees United's operations at Los Angeles International Airport. “We want to do everything we can with technology to get our customers from this ticket counter to their gate as quickly and smoothly as possible.”
At LAX, passengers are already getting a first-hand look at the new technology.
“I think it's working pretty well,” said Maggie Burge, who used her face to check her bag.
Grant Kreczyk also tried the system to check his luggage before a recent flight to New York.
“It's seamless,” he said, adding that he wasn't worried about facial recognition. “It doesn't bother me. I think it's good that it's something going forward.”
Terry explained that the system is optional.
“Using facial recognition technology, you can print your baggage tag and complete your check-in process within 15 to 20 seconds,” he said.
At checkpoints, both the TSA and Clear, an optional service travelers can subscribe to for a fee, are increasingly offering facial recognition lanes aimed at shortening waiting times in lines.
“This system is becoming more and more common,” said Clear co-founder and president Ken Cornick. “It increases efficiency across the checkpoints and makes it clear that we are on the side of the American traveler. We believe anything that increases efficiency is a good thing for everyone.”
Biometric technology and facial recognition will increasingly be used for boarding procedures on international departures, and passengers using Global Entry will experience facial recognition as part of their expedited customs clearance upon returning to the U.S.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency has “processed more than 490 million travelers using biometric facial matching technology and prevented more than 1,900 imposters from entering the United States.”
But not everyone is a fan of facial recognition: A congressional push to limit the TSA's use of biometrics failed earlier this month, and questions remain about how well facial recognition works on people of color, continuing to raise concerns among privacy advocates.
“There need to be very strong safeguards in place for the use of this information,” said Cody Benzke, senior policy counsel at the ACLU. “This is very important because with facial fingerprints, unlike Social Security numbers or phone numbers, you can't get a new face.”
In response to critics, Pekoske stressed that privacy is a top priority.
“We never retain any data provided by our customers for more than a few seconds. We have no plans to monitor, and the technology has no monitoring capabilities. So our use case is entirely to verify identity, and that's it.”
The TSA website notes that passengers can opt in to these programs but currently must carry physical ID.
