In Air Canada aviation and travel news, Canada’s flag carrier airline announced November 28th, 2024 the introduction of their new digital boarding experience using Air Canada’s Digital ID for most Domestic flights departing Vancouver International Airport. The service brings digital identification and a ‘hands-free’ travel process to boarding at the airport, a first for Canada. Passengers using the service will not have to use a government-issued photo ID at the gate for boarding.
According to Air Canada, they are the first Canadian airline to offer customers the ability to use facial recognition to board flights for a faster, seamless boarding experience.
Rolling out Digital ID: Safety and Security?
The system is currently being tested for select flights from Vancouver to Winnipeg and will be fully operational in Vancouver (YVR) beginning December 3rd. The system will soon be expanded across Canada.
The Program has also been in use in the Toronto Pearson Air Canada Cafe, and the system will be expanded to select Maple Leaf Lounges enter Air Canada’s Maple Leaf Lounges in Toronto (YYZ), Calgary and San Francisco,
Air Canada states the system is strictly optional and consent-based, and that Your digital profile is encrypted and stored only on your device. The Air Canada-sponsored program according to the airline is not part of any national identity programs such as Nexus or Global Entry.
Users will have to sign up with Air Canada for the service via the Air Canada app. The system takes measurements of your face and creates a numeric ‘Faceprint’. More information and sign-up information can be found here on Air Canada’s website.
The Air Canada website states that when your digital profile can be used for an upcoming trip a message will be displayed on the check-in confirmation screen and a push notification on your device.
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Creating an Air Canada Digital ID
To create a digital profile, passengers use the Air Canada app on their phones (the app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play). By selecting ‘Create a Digital ID’, the app will ask you to take a picture of your passport, do a scan of the passport chip and take a selfie for the Digital ID. The app will analyze the images and passport data and use them for authentication. Upon completion of the in-app process, the Air Canada digital ID will be created and uploaded to your device.
Our Thoughts
I’ve used similar services on international flights across the world, including on United Airlines in some US airports like Houtson’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Those systems use TSA and passport information to automatically identify passengers without signing up. Upon first use, that experience was quite mind-blowing, and a little scary to be honest. I think the opt-in model with AC is a good step forward and appears to maintain an acceptable level of on-device privacy.
What do you think of the new Digital ID concept?