The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says the aviation industry is ready for contactless, biometric-enabled international travel, with digital identity able to replace paper documentation.
IATA director general Willie Walsh announced this at an April 8 press conference in Singapore.
Under the IATA Strategic Partnerships Program, several digital identity proof-of-concept (PoC) trials were completed with support from airlines, airports, technology providers and governments across Europe and Asia-Pacific.
IATA director general Willie Walsh announced this at an April 8 press conference in Singapore.
Walsh said the partners tested how digital identity stored in mobile wallets and biometric verification can support passenger journeys without repeated paper document checks.
Importantly, the PoCs demonstrated that system interoperability is sufficiently advanced to support contactless journeys involving multiple carriers and different digital identity wallets, including Digital ID in Apple Wallet for US passport holders, Google ID pass for UK and US passport holders, and digital identity programmes such as India’s Digi Yatra.
IATA shared examples of three PoC trials.
One involved connecting international journeys with a transfer (Japan Airlines – Tokyo Haneda – Hong Kong – European airport), where passengers shared identity data in advance using digital wallets, enabling biometric processing at departure and transfer points.
A second was based on airline-managed digital identity (Air New Zealand – Auckland – Hong Kong), where passengers used an airline digital wallet to share identity data during booking and check-in, enabling remote biometric enrolment and contactless processing at airport and customs touchpoints.
The third tested interoperability across providers (IndiGo – Bengaluru), demonstrating that digital identity solutions from different providers – including national programmes such as Digi Yatra and international wallet credentials – can work together within a single journey, enabling processing from airport entry to boarding.
