‘One ID’ initiative by IATA receives travellers’ support
The ‘One ID’ initiative by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which proposes the use of biometric identification for paperless travel, has got a big boost with the results of the survey showing travellers are keen to take advantage of it.
Based on more than 10,000 responses from 222 countries, the 2022 Global Passenger Survey (GPS) by IATA shows that passengers top concerns for travel in the post-Covid crisis period are focused on simplification and convenience.
“Travel during Covid-19 was complex, cumbersome and time consuming due to government-imposed travel requirements. Post-pandemic, passengers want improved convenience throughout their trip. Digitalisation and use of biometrics to speed up the travel journey is the key,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s senior vice-president for operations, safety and security, as he revealed the results during the ongoing World Passenger Symposium (WPS) 2022 at the Gulf Hotel Bahrain, Convention and Spa.
The study found that passengers want convenience when they plan their travel and when choosing where to depart from.
Their preference is to fly from an airport close to home, have all booking options and services available in one single place, pay with their preferred payment method and easily offset their carbon emissions.
Most travellers are willing to share their immigration information for more convenient processing.
“Travellers have told us that barriers to travel remain. Countries with complex visa procedures are losing the economic benefits that these travellers bring. Where countries have removed visa requirements, tourism and travel economies have thrived. And for countries requiring certain categories of travellers to get visas, taking advantage of traveller willingness to use online processes and share information in advance would be a win-win solution,” said Mr Careen.
Another key takeaway was that passengers are willing to take advantage of technology and re-thought processes to improve the convenience of their airport experience and manage their baggage.
“Passengers clearly see technology as key to improving the convenience of airport processes. They want to arrive at the airport ready-to-fly, get through the airport at both ends of their journey more quickly using biometrics and know where their baggage is at all times. The technology exists to support this ideal experience. But we need co-operation across the value chain and with governments to make it happen. And we need to continuously reassure passengers that the data needed to support such an experience will be safely kept,” said Mr Careen.
IATA, which represents some 290 airlines comprising 83pc of global air traffic, feels the industry is ready to power airport processes with biometrics through the ‘One ID’.
It said in a statement that Covid-19 has helped governments understand the potential for passengers to share their travel information with them directly and in advance of travel and the power of biometric processes to improve security and facilitations processes and more efficiently use scarce resources.
The proliferation of e-gates at airports is proving the efficiencies that can be gained. The priority is to support the ‘One ID’ standards with regulation to allow its use to create a seamless experience across all parts of the passenger journey.
