Iberia introduces facial recognition services in Spain

Spanish flag carrier Iberia this month rolled out a facial recognition boarding service for flights between Madrid and Barcelona.

The new biometric boarding service, available at six gates at Madrid-Barajas airport and one at Barcelona-El Prat airport, will allow travellers to pass through both security control and the boarding gate “without having to show the necessary documents”, the IAG-owned carrier said.

The service is available to all travellers above the age of 18 with either a Spanish ID or an electronic EU passport. Adult members of the carrier’s Iberia Plus loyalty programme can also access the service, however all travellers will need to register a biometric profile prior to travel via the carrier’s app or at designated airport kiosks.

Registration requires travellers to enter their personal data, take a photo of their ID, scan the document chip and take a selfie using their mobile phone. The biometric identity is then linked to a boarding pass during the check-in process.

According to the carrier, the registration process is only required once and, for each subsequent, trip travellers need only link their boarding pass to their biometric profile.

Boarding by facial recognition does not affect boarding groups, the carrier stated, and upon arrival at the gate travellers will be able to choose whether they prefer conventional boarding pass access or the biometric gate.

Currently, Iberia’s biometric boarding service is compatible with mobile phones with an iOS operating system and will be made available to Android-operated devices “in the near future”.