Delta Airlines recently announced that they will introduce their first face-scanning biometric terminal in the United States at the Hartsfield Jackson airport in Atlanta. Specifically, it will be placed in Terminal F, the international terminal. Additionally, flyers from Atlanta can also use it on Aeromexico, Air France-KLM, and Virgin Atlantic, all Delta partner airlines.

This kind of technology is already available in other parts of the world, and it’s already been in use in Orlando, especially on flights to and from London’s Gatwick Airport. And now Atlanta, New York, and Miami are testing it.

To use it — and it’s optional, by the way; there will be signs posted in the appropriate areas — you have to enter your Passport information during online check-in or when you check in at the airport. Next, you’ll select the appropriate option at the Delta automated kiosk, which according to a CNN story, will then let you “approach the camera at the counter in the lobby, the TSA checkpoint, or when boarding at the gate.”

The purpose of the technology is to speed the entering and exiting process. Rather than standing in line to show someone your passport, your scanned passport (complete with your photo) will be matched against your biometric scan at the airport. As long as the two match, then you’ll be allowed to go through. No more standing in line, no waiting as a customs agent looks from you to your passport, back to you, back to your passport, ad infinitum. If you’ve ever waited in a customs line for more than an hour, you know how painful this can all be.

Believe it or not, the face scanning software was recently able to catch someone who was attempting to travel from Brazil using a French passport. According to a story in the Denver Post, “the facial comparison biometric system determined he was not a match to the passport he presented.”

Of course, some people have privacy concerns about entering their passport information and using their biometric information. It’s not so much that their faces will be scanned, but rather that the information can be misused, so the Customs and Border Patrol Agency are doing their best to reassure everyone they’re taking the strictest precautions in protecting everyone’s private and personal information.

So what will you do? Will you opt into the biometric face-scanning process in order to get through the lines faster? Or will you choose the older method and stand in line? Tell us your thoughts on the process on our Facebook page, or on our Twitter stream.

Photo credit: Delta Airlines News Hub

The post Delta Airlines Introduces First Biometric Terminal in the US appeared first on Travelpro® Luggage Blog.