Shanghai’s Airport Can Now Scan Your Face To Check You In For Your Flight

Unsplash/Jonathon Percy

The days of standing in line at the airport to check in for your flight are long gone. And soon, the self-check-in desks where you scan your passport might be relics of the past as well. Shanghai’s airport is ushering in the future of airport check-in by just scanning your face.

The Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport uses facial recognition software to put passengers through an automated check-in system. It’s the first fully automated system to do so and can make the entire check-in process as short as 90 seconds.

Spring Airlines, a low-cost airline based right in Shanghai, is debuting the tech. According to the Associated Press, 87 percent of passengers flying on Spring Airlines on Monday used the new facial check-in process.

Unsplash/Briana Tozour

Now, before you get too excited, you can’t use the new check-in process with your American passport. The only lucky travelers who can speed straight through check-in right now are those with a Chinese identity card.

As far as implementation within the United States goes, there have been a few test cases. In May, JetBlue started testing face scans for check-in and in September, Delta Airlines opened a biometric terminal that is set to begin operations later this year.

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