The Transportation Security Administration in 2019 plans to further expand evaluations of facial recognition technology used to help identify select travelers at airport security checkpoints with a goal to begin operationalizing the biometric technology beginning in 2020, according to an agency official.
This year TSA, in partnership with Customs and Border Protection, began pilot tests of facial recognition systems at two airports with the focus being on international fliers. Next, TSA plans to conduct evaluations of the technology with a vetted traveler population that operates under the PreCheck brand.
Eventually, TSA plans to evaluate the use of biometrics at the checkpoint on regular domestic travelers and then bring on aviation workers, relevant law enforcement officers, and airline crew members, Austin Gould, assistant administrator for Requirements and Capability Analysis, says at the annual American Association of Airport Executives Aviation Security Summit in Arlington, Va.
Gould tells HSR that having the technology ready to roll out sometime in 2020 for select operations is aggressive but still “reasonable.” He tells the audience that 2020 is a “safe bet” to validate requirements to show the path forward with biometrics.
In the evaluations at Los Angeles International and Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airports, passengers headed to their overseas flights can choose to have their photo taken at the TSA travel document checker rather than submit an identity credential. If a facial match is confirmed against the traveler’s passport photo that is stored in a CBP database, that person is free to continue into the checkpoint.
Biometrics increase security effectiveness and can improve operational efficiencies, Gould says. The trend lines show that passenger volumes will continue to increase and that the number of Transportation Security Officers will remain relatively static, he says.
In October, TSA Administrator David Pekoske said the ongoing evaluations are demonstrating that the use of facial recognition systems at the checkpoint is better than relying on a visual check of a traveler.
The ongoing and future biometric evaluations are helping to demonstrate the operational feasibility of the technology and the development of policy for the use of biometrics for identity management, Gould says. He also says the evaluations are helping the agency develop and validate requirements for the technology, and how and where it works.
In September TSA released its first ever biometrics roadmap to guide its plans, which include leveraging work CBP has been doing for several years around implementing facial recognition at departure gates for international flights. CBP is also deploying cameras to improve the processing of foreign nationals arriving to the U.S., a process that for the most part still relies on fingerprint checks.
Gould says a pilot evaluation in 2017 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York verified that the CBP biometric database, called the Traveler Verification System (TVS), is a “suitable platform” for TSA to use.
Curb-to-Gate Biometrics
The second phase of the pilot began at LAX in June and showed that TSA and CBP could integrate at the checkpoint and use TVS for identity management for international passengers, he says. The evaluation at Atlanta, which is another component to the second phase, is expanding the facial recognition throughout the airport to include Delta Air Lines [DAL] using the technology for checking in at self-service kiosks at the international lobby, dropping off checked bags at counters at the international lobby counter, and in lieu of a boarding pass at international departure gates at the same time CBP is using the photo to ensure foreign nationals are departing the U.S. in accordance with their visas. TSA is also doing the face recognition for international travelers in Atlanta as part of the curb-to-gate biometric experience launched by Delta at the international terminal.
The curb-to-gate operation was launched in mid-October and so far, only 2 percent of international travelers have opted out, according to Delta. The airline says facial recognition on average is leading to a nine-minute reduction in the time it takes to load a wide-body aircraft.
“Delta’s successful launch of the first biometric terminal in the U.S. at the world’s busiest airport means we are designing the airport biometric experience blueprint for the industry,” Gil West, Delta’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. “We’re removing the need for a customer checking a bag to present their passport up to four times per departure, which means we’re giving customers the option of moving through the airport with one less thing to worry about, while empowering our employees with more time for meaningful interactions with customers.”
This month, Delta, working with CBP and Wayne County Airport Authority in Michigan, is expanding a facial recognition boarding evaluation that began in July to all 14 international gates at the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW). Customers will have the option of using their face biometric to board on all international flights.
In 2019, Delta plans to roll out facial recognition technology curb-to-gate at DTW.
Delta is purchasing its camera technology from NEC Corp.
Phase 3 TSA Plans
Gould says a phase three demonstration will link up CBP’s TVS with TSA’s Secure Flight database on passenger information so that TSA can begin to look at passengers on domestic flights, beginning with PreCheck. These demonstrations will begin next summer, he says.
Linking Secure Flight with TVS will enable TSA’s Travel Document Checkers at airport checkpoints to obtain the risk status of any passengers as soon as their photo is captured and matched.
Gould says TSA is working with its privacy and legal team as it works through the processes for incorporating domestic passengers into the biometric verification. When TSA launches the evaluations with its PreCheck population, there may be no reason for the Travel Document Checker to be involved. It’ possible TSA employs e-Gates here, he says.
Simplified Arrival
CBP, in the case of its biometric exit deployments, has been able to get airports and airlines to buy the camera equipment used at departure gates while providing the backend face matching system, TVS. The agency is also letting airports and airlines use TVS for the boarding checks instead of a boarding pass and for other touch points in the curb-to-gate experience, and is deploying face recognition at arrival checks to simplify processing and entry into the airport.
In 2019, CBP plans to ramp up the deployment of facial recognition technology to process arrivals to the U.S., Dan Tanciar, a CBP official, says at the AAAE summit. It takes about 90 days from initial meetings to establish the new procedures for Simplified Arrival, he says.
Using Simplified Arrival, foreign nationals have their photos taken, eliminating the need to provide passport and fingerprints for travelers that have been to the U.S. previously. Once the photo is taken and matched, the relevant traveler data is presented on screen to the CBP officer.
The new biometric entry procedures allow CBP officers to spend more time with the visitor and speed the processing.
Tanciar says that by the end of November, CBP had processed about 6,000 flights as part of biometric exit, accounting for about 981,000 passengers.
CBP is recording accuracy rates between 97 and 98 percent, Tanciar says, adding that to validate these metrics, the agency plans to partner with the National Institute of Standards and Technology shortly.