Revolutionizing Air Travel: Digital Travel Credentials Pilot

Air travel has become increasingly complicated in recent years. From security and passport checks to special documents such as COVID-19 certificates, passengers are required to carefully prepare before flying out on their vacation. However, a solution that could cut through some of this complexity is Digital Travel Credentials (DTCs).

Europe and Canada have just completed the world's first transatlantic Digital Travel Credential pilot using the DTC-1 model, allowing Belgian, Dutch, and Canadian passport holders to skip through the lines with an app that allows biometric verification with a selfie.

The pilot was conducted by a Dutch consortium co-funded by the European Commission, involving several entities, including the Dutch Ministry of Justice & Security, KLM, Transport Canada, and Idemia, which provided the biometric verification technology. From a border management perspective, the DTC works, with the digital document helping to cut border crossing time to about 10 to 14 seconds.

The pilot invited over 10,000 passengers, with over 1,000 passengers engaging. However, only half ended up going through the process. Speakers attributed this result to the fact that the pilot lasted only three months. But some passengers have also found it challenging to participate due to the high standard for security and data privacy.

To achieve widespread adoption, there needs to be a balance between IT security and data privacy, while also enabling customers to easily enroll. One of the positive results is that 85 percent of the passengers enrolled for flight were able to successfully board.

In the future, the DTC experiment will have to tackle many more questions, including those about data storage and processing in compliance with the EU AI Act and the GDPR. Digitalization of passport verification needs to be looked at holistically, from legislation to the role of airlines and even what kind of information should passports hold.

Idemia is a leading provider of biometric verification technology, and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is a major international airline.

Q: What is the main goal of Digital Travel Credentials?

A: The main goal of Digital Travel Credentials is to simplify air travel by allowing passengers to skip lines with biometric verification using a selfie.

Q: How long did the Digital Travel Credential pilot last?

A: The pilot lasted only three months.

Q: What was the success rate of passengers enrolling for flight using the DTC app?

A: 85 percent of the passengers enrolled for flight were able to successfully board.

Q: What is the biggest challenge facing the widespread adoption of Digital Travel Credentials?

A: Finding a balance between IT security and data privacy while also enabling customers to easily enroll is the biggest challenge facing the widespread adoption of Digital Travel Credentials.

Q: What is the future of Digital Travel Credentials?

A: In the future, the DTC experiment will have to tackle many more questions, including those about data storage and processing in compliance with the EU AI Act and the GDPR.