Perth Airport aims to be the first in Australia to create a fully automated biometric departure process
A new wave of airport automation is underway, with major hubs in Australia and New Zealand adopting ambitious plans to replace traditional check-in processes with facial recognition and biometric bag drops. The moves by Perth Airport and Auckland Airport signal a rapid global shift toward a future where a passenger’s face serves as their boarding pass.
The projects reflect a growing industry-wide effort to streamline passenger journeys, reduce manual processing, and enhance efficiency. However, they also usher in a new era of digital identity management in the travel sector, raising questions about the future of data privacy and passenger experience.
Perth Airport aims to be the first in Australia to create a fully automated biometric departure process. The air hub has partnered with technology provider Amadeus to install nearly 100 biometric check-in kiosks and replace 40 traditional counters with biometric bag drop units. This follows a series of trials between the two organisations that began in 2022.
Sarah Samuel, Amadeus’s senior vice president for AirOps in the APAC region, noted that the process is designed for speed and simplicity. “All it takes is a couple of seconds to perform a facial scan to validate the passenger at bag drop or boarding,” she said, adding that the system creates a secure digital representation of a passenger’s data. Amadeus has recently secured similar deals in airports across Malaysia, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia, indicating the growing scale of its biometric business.
On the other side of the Tasman, Auckland Airport is also undergoing a major update to future-proof its facilities for biometric processing, including facial recognition and digital travel credentials. The airport plans to replace 60 traditional check-in desks with self-service kiosks and automated bag drops over the next four years.
According to Auckland Airport Chief Executive Carrie Hurihanganui, this technology “allows for a more streamlined, faster authorisation at processing points such as check-in, border transitions and aircraft boarding.” The first phase of the rollout has already been completed in one zone, where 30 desks were replaced by 36 kiosks and 22 bag drops.
The projects in Perth and Auckland are indicative of a broader industry trend. According to a 2024 IATA survey, nearly half of all global air passengers have already used a biometric ID at an airport. Of those, 84% were satisfied with the experience, and 73% expressed a preference for biometrics over traditional passports and boarding passes in the future. With biometric systems now operational in more than 70 airports worldwide, the industry appears to be moving swiftly towards a new, automated reality for global air travel.
