MiSense requires airport redesign to be effective
Identity access and management tools may not only add security, but also reduce queues at airports — but there is a need to redsign the airports first
More and more airport authorities look to biometrics to help address security issues. There is, in theory, an added advantage here: The results of a recent biometrics trial show that improved identity access and management (IAM) schemes based on biometrics and smart cards may well reduce check-in times for air passengers — but only if airports rearrange their floor-space to reduce passenger bottlenecks elsewhere. Preliminary results of the MiSense trial conducted at Heathrow airport between October 2006 and March this year are due to be published by systems integrator Accenture next week.
The trial used self-service kiosks to scan passports and passenger index fingers, then stored the information on a database before cross referencing it prior to boarding. Of the 3,000 passengers who took part, 62 percent said they would sign up to a commercial scheme if offered, with faster journey times cited as the main benefit, Accenture will report. Accenture spokesperson Cyrille Battallier said the real advantage lies not in security improvements or faster passenger travel times, but automated processes that can save money by reducing airline staff headcount. “It is a lower cost transaction
