Flyers once viewed airport biometrics with fear and skepticism. Now they prefer it

Once viewed with fear and skepticism, airdrome biometric screenings are present preferred and adjacent expected by planetary travelers, according to a study by the aerial transport exertion institution Sita.

"The much passengers usage it, the much they similar it," the study stated.

Globally, the fig of radical who haven't utilized biometric exertion astatine airports dropped to 31% this twelvemonth from 41% successful 2024, the study said.

Comfort levels are rising arsenic consumers usage biometric recognition to entree everything, from their mobile phones to their workplaces, said Sarah Samuel, elder vice president of airdrome and hose operations successful Asia-Pacific astatine the question exertion institution Amadeus.

Citing the power of Uber and Netflix, the anticipation is that "everything is connected demand" these days — including travel, she said.  

Biometric exertion is astir fashionable with younger travelers, men and predominant flyers, according to Sita's 2025 Passenger IT Insights study published connected Oct. 6, which surveyed immoderate 7,500 passengers astatine airports successful 25 countries.

Adoption rates are highest successful airports successful Asia-Pacific and the Middle East/Africa, according to the report.

"In APAC, decidedly the take-up is precise high," said Samuel, citing the region's young population and precocious complaint of mobile telephone penetration. "We're up compared to astir different parts of the world."

Amadeus helped rotation retired biometric processing astatine assorted points successful airports successful Singapore, Japan, Australia, India, and much recently, successful Bali.

"You utilized to person huge, precise agelong migration queues" successful Bali, she said. Now "it's an bare hall."

Amadeus is preparing to motorboat "proximity biometrics" soon, said Samuel. The exertion works via a integer individuality wallet stored connected passengers' phones that connects with assorted touchpoints astatine the airport. However, each information is deleted erstwhile the rider walks away, she said.  

She said the exertion volition motorboat successful Asia-Pacific wrong the adjacent year.

Biometric vs. accepted borderline checks

62% of flyers said they similar biometric checkpoints implicit accepted borderline counters

Digital IDs, that store passport and different details connected travelers' phones, are acceptable to alteration question the mode that integer wallets transformed payments, according to Sita's report.

Passengers are much accepting of this thought present too, with comfortableness levels rising to 79% successful 2025, from 74% successful 2024, it showed. Most travelers said they're comfy sharing their integer identities and biometrics earlier they question too, the study said.

As much young and digitally-savvy consumers commencement flying, the fig of integer individuality users volition emergence from 155 cardinal successful 2024 to 1.27 cardinal by 2029, according to Sita.  

Travelers whitethorn clasp the velocity and convenience of biometric processing, yet astir inactive harbor concerns astir it, according to Sita's report.

Only 3% of travelers said they had nary concerns astir biometric identification, it showed.

Digital IDs whitethorn alteration passengers' concerns astir losing their passports, portion heightening fears astir losing their phones, information indicated.   

Even successful Asia-Pacific, wherever exertion is often rapidly embraced, galore travelers accidental they're uncomfortable sharing idiosyncratic information with online question platforms, according to a survey by information analytics institution Qlik.

The survey of much than 4,000 radical showed travelers are much consenting to stock immoderate information that they've already provided successful online apps, specified arsenic budgets and booking history. However, accusation related to their unrecorded locations ranked adjacent the bottommost of the list.

Indian respondents indicated the slightest interest astir information privacy. Meanwhile, Japanese travelers showed the astir concern, with immoderate 34% saying they weren't comfy sharing information of immoderate type, the survey showed.

"India has a overmuch younger colonisation compared to Japan," said Amadeus' Samuel, adding that exertion adoption rates successful airports besides varies by civilization and age.

But the propulsion of speedier, much businesslike travel, with less documents and airdrome bottlenecks, is hard to resist.

Samuel said she travels lighter these days, since astir of what she needs — including her individuality and recognition cards — are stored electronically.

"I've had cab drivers who say, are you definite you're acceptable to travel? … You don't person a handbag," she said. "I'm similar … I person everything connected my phone."

— CNBC's Kaela Ling contributed to this report.