Being able to hop on a plane and get pretty much anywhere is a marvel of the modern world, but there’s no denying that the process can be a bit of a faff. Remembering to check-in well in advance, getting your boarding pass in the right format, ensuring your passport is in date and you’ve got the right visas… catching a flight can be pretty stressful.
But all that could soon change. New proposals by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a UN body tasked with setting air travel policy, feature plans to abolish traditional check-ins and boarding passes.
The ICAO’s ‘digital travel credential’ plans entail letting flyers upload passport and boarding details to smartphones in a ‘journey pass’. Travellers would then pass through airports using facial recognition tech, which will tell airlines that passengers have arrived at the airport.
All of which could make air travel much simpler for British flyers. Not only would the ICAO’s proposals do away with the current system – which sees travellers check-in either online or at the airport – but it could make things more straightforward at a time when travelling to and from Britain is getting get more complicated. The UK’s new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme means many visitors to the country must now pay and get permission to travel here, while the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) and Electronic Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) rollouts will soon mean Brits have to pay to get into Europe.
Not only could new check-in systems simplify flying: they could also help keep passengers informed during delays and connecting flights. One transport expert told the Times that the plans changes could be the industry’s ‘biggest in 50 years’
So, how and when could UK airports scrap boarding passes and check-in? Well, facial recognition and passport-reading tech would have to be rolled out – and judging from the much-delayed installation of new security machines at British airports, maybe we shouldn’t expect that to be such a smooth process. According to the Times, changes could come into effect in three years.
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