AOT confirms facial recognition for international flights

[snoop1130]

Image courtesy of Pattaya News

 

By Ryan Turner

 

Airports of Thailand Plc (AOT) yesterday announced that the state-owned enterprise will implement facial recognition services at six major airports for international flights starting December 1.

 

The biometrics-based system will be deployed at Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Don Mueang, Hat Yai, Phuket, and Suvarnabhumi airports. AOT anticipates the new technology will significantly streamline the passenger experience, reducing checkpoint processing time for registered travellers from three minutes to just one minute.

 

Travellers can register for the automated biometric identification system through two primary methods: by working with airline staff at traditional check-in counters or by using common-use self-service (CUSS) check-in counters.

 

During registration, passengers will have their faces scanned into the system.

 

 

After completing registration, travellers will be able to use Common Use Bag Drop (CUBD) machines to check their luggage without needing to present their boarding passes or passports.

 

In compliance with the Personal Data Protection Act, AOT has committed to erasing all stored biometric data within 48 hours of registration.

 

The facial recognition service was initially introduced for domestic flights on November 1 and is now expanding to include international travel, reported Bangkok Post.

 

Source: The Thaiger

-- 2024-11-28

 

 

[bkknirvana]

Start of global communism .

[bbbbooboo]

hmmm… this facial recognition certainly makes the process quicker. Sometimes it used to take 2-3 hrs to get through , waiting forever in the queue that snaked back and forward towards the IO

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Travellers can register for the automated biometric identification system through two primary methods: by working with airline staff at traditional check-in counters or by using common-use self-service (CUSS) check-in counters.

Might want to re-name that one.

[Muhendis]

1 hour ago, bkknirvana said:

Start of global communism .

I think you may have a problem.

[sungod]

1 hour ago, bkknirvana said:

Start of global communism .

I'm sure there will be a much longer queue checking manually if you dont want to use this system.

[Patjqm]

yesterday it tooks 3 minutes... and again fingerprints and picture😁

[bkk6060]

Went thru a couple weeks ago they had the system up for Thai air international departures.  It did not work, I had to go thru the officer queue.    Good luck.

[KannikaP]

Doesn't the system in other countries eg Dubai, take a photo and compare it with that on your passport.

[KannikaP]

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

During registration, passengers will have their faces scanned into the system.

Again?

[Bday Prang]

2 hours ago, bbbbooboo said:

hmmm… this facial recognition certainly makes the process quicker. Sometimes it used to take 2-3 hrs to get through , waiting forever in the queue that snaked back and forward towards the IO

and it hasn't even  started yet

[AAArdvark]

If the data is deleted after use that would mean you would have to queue up at the airline counter every time. That would seem to take a much longer time than before. 

My last trip was  Airasia dmk to sai. I bypassed the airline all together with my boarding pass on my phone. Then 5 minutes at passport control. 

Can't be much faster than that. 

[koolkarl]

Another loss of privacy.  And soon a digital currency, the ultimate politicians dream. 

[mikeymike100]

27 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

and it hasn't even  started yet

Wait until it does start, the it has a glitch and stops again!

[khunjeff]

The responses all seem to be about immigration, but the system is meant to be about check-in, baggage drop, security, and boarding, in addition to immigration.

 

Since this is an AoT press release, they fail to mention that the only part of that process that AoT controls is security. Immigration will decide who can or can't use FR to pass through their gates, and the airlines will decide who - if anyone - can use it for check-in and at the gate. Since airlines are responsible for checking visas and passports for entry to destination countries, they are generally not as open to using fully automated systems for international flights as they are for domestic trips.

 

Still, if it speeds anything up, sure, why not. (If you entered the country legally, and especially if you ever got an extension of stay, the Thai government already has your picture, so don't fantasize that they're grabbing your soul by saving your photo.)

[Yagoda]

The problem for me is that when they scanned my face, the gate swung open and it said, Welcome HanSum Man.

 

I have to head to the states and change my name.

[kimamey]

1 hour ago, khunjeff said:

The responses all seem to be about immigration, but the system is meant to be about check-in, baggage drop, security, and boarding, in addition to immigration.

 

Since this is an AoT press release, they fail to mention that the only part of that process that AoT controls is security. Immigration will decide who can or can't use FR to pass through their gates, and the airlines will decide who - if anyone - can use it for check-in and at the gate. Since airlines are responsible for checking visas and passports for entry to destination countries, they are generally not as open to using fully automated systems for international flights as they are for domestic trips.

 

Still, if it speeds anything up, sure, why not. (If you entered the country legally, and especially if you ever got an extension of stay, the Thai government already has your picture, so don't fantasize that they're grabbing your soul by saving your photo.)

A lot of hotels have my picture on my passport as well,  I don't know how long they keep them. The government has my picture and my wife in our bedroom, outside the house.  They have had dozens of copies of my signature, many in one visit to immigration. Most are unreadable but there are a few where they've asked me to do it like it is in my passport.

[AndreasHG]

2 hours ago, khunjeff said:

The responses all seem to be about immigration, but the system is meant to be about check-in, baggage drop, security, and boarding, in addition to immigration

 

AOT published an announcement explaining how the system works and what it simplifies.

The facial recognition eliminates 'the need to present a passport or boarding pass at baggage drop, security checks, and boarding.' Immigration will not leverage this new system.

 

The data are solely used only to ensure that the passengers boarding the plane are the ones whose names are printed on the boarding cards and on the airline manifest. This also explains why the data can be deleted after only 48 hours.

 

The benefit in terms of time saving will be greater the higher the number of passengers who use facial recognition.

 

AOT rolls out Biometric System to enhance passenger experience across six airports - TAT Newsroom

 

Edited 18 minutes ago by AndreasHG

[jas007]

Don't they already take your picture when you enter the country?  Anyway, why not, if it makes for a smoother process at the airport? 

 

I've seen this at work in the Seoul Korea airport at the Delta check-in.  Look at the camera and your passport picture pops up.  

Edited 12 minutes ago by jas007

[AndreasHG]

4 minutes ago, jas007 said:

Don't they already take your picture when you enter the country? 

 

Yes, but this new system has nothing to do with Immigration. It is only intended for baggage drop, security checks, and boarding.