Summary
- Elon Musk agrees with the need for US airports to catch up with global tech.
- Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport uses facial recognition for check-in.
- US has no equivalent to AUH’s Single Token Journey solution; Delta’s Digital ID is closest.
Elon Musk has responded to a social media post saying that United States airports need to catch up to technologies used around the world.
The US needs to catch up
Hassan Sajwani shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) that was created by syndtheexplorer on TikTok, which shows new facial recognition technology at Zayed International Airport (AUH). In the video, Synd shows the new terminal at AUH, specifically how passengers check in. The new terminal has kiosks available where all passengers have to do is scan their face. The video appears to show a self-bag drop area.
In the video, Synd says the United States needs to catch up. The post on X caught the attention of Elon Musk, the platform’s owner, who agreed with Synd.
Hassan Sajwani continues by sharing what appears to be a promo video for the new airport, saying that AUH is not just an airport but also a high-class shopping mall.
New technologies
According to a press release from IDEMIA, a leader in technology, AUH has adopted several technologies. The airport has a Single Token Journey (STJ) solution that assigns one unique identifier for every passenger. Biometric solutions have been installed at self-service bag drops, immigration eGates, and boarding gates. In a second phase of implementation, the airport will deploy biometric technologies everywhere possible.
The US has not adopted any technology like this yet. The closest thing available is Delta Air Lines’ Digital ID, which requires passengers to be members of TSA PreCheck. With the Digital ID, passengers are able to drop their bags off without having to pull out a boarding pass or phone, but agents may still require that a valid photo ID be shown.
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Delta Air Lines Expands Facial Recognition Digital ID To Atlanta
Some airlines and airports throughout the country have adopted facial recognition technology. For example, at all United Airlines hubs, the airline has implemented biometric boarding systems, which only require a photo of the passenger’s face for boarding. The airline does ask passengers to have passports and boarding passes in hand to verify them. Miami International Airport has also rolled out biometric boarding throughout the airport.
About Terminal A at AUH
Terminal A in Abu Dhabi is the airport’s newest terminal, a massive upgrade from the previous facilities. Construction on Terminal A began in 2012 but was halted while Etihad Airways experienced a massive shift in operations. Terminal A can handle 11,000 passengers per hour and 79 planes simultaneously. The capability to handle 79 planes comes from 49 gates, some of which can handle two planes, and several remote stands.
Photo: ArtEvent ET | Shutterstock
Though home to one of the main Gulf Carriers, Etihad Airways, Terminal A does not have any stand-out features like movie theaters, waterfalls, or gardens. Despite this, the terminal has some incredible architecture, which was featured in the latest Mission Impossible movie with Tom Cruise. The new terminal features two lounges (technically three), Etihad’s First & Business Lounge and The Pearl Lounge.
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Etihad Begins To Use Abu Dhabi’s New Mid-Field Terminal
The first flight to use the new terminal was EY224 to Delhi, India.