Boarding Passes and Check-In Could Be Scrapped in Air Travel Shake-Up

The Next Evolution in Air Travel

The era of traditional boarding practices—thumbing through paper boarding passes or frantically checking in online—may soon become a relic of the past. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations body, is preparing to introduce a revolutionary change to the air travel landscape: the digital travel credential.

What the New System Entails

This forward-thinking initiative intends to digitize key aspects of air travel by allowing passengers to store their passport information on personal mobile devices. This development is projected to take effect within the next three years.

Currently, the flying experience involves obtaining a boarding pass upon checking in—either online or at the airport. This pass has a barcode that is scanned at multiple checkpoints, including pre-flight gate inspection. The proposed changes, however, aim to intricately overhaul this system:

• Elimination of Traditional Check-Ins: Flyers will download a “journey pass” to their phone at the time of booking, which will auto-update as needed.
• Digital Passport Verification: Passengers can upload their passport information to their phone and proceed through the airport using facial recognition for identity verification, effectively phasing out manual checks.
• Automated Passenger Notifications: The system will notify airlines of a passenger’s intent to travel when they arrive at the airport and undergo face scanning.

Technological Upgrades and Challenges

For this revolutionary system to operate, airports must undergo significant infrastructure upgrades, chiefly in the areas of facial recognition technology and mobile passport reading capabilities. The introduction of these systems represents the most substantial airline upgrade since the early 2000s’ transition to electronic ticketing.

Valérie Viale, Amadeus’s director of product management, describes these updates as “the biggest in 50 years.” She compares the aviation industry’s modernizations to the streamlined systems used by tech giants like Amazon.

Addressing Privacy Concerns

While these technological advancements promise an efficient and seamless travel experience, they aren’t without concerns. Namely, privacy advocates worry about the use and storage of personal data, including biometric information. In response, Amadeus assures that it has devised a privacy-centric system where passenger data is purged within 15 seconds of interacting with any “touchpoint”—minimizing opportunities for misuse.

Implications for Flight Delays and Connections

In addition to streamlining initial airport processes, the new system holds potential benefits for managing flight delays and missed connections:

• Automatic Re-Bookings: If a passenger misses a connecting flight due to uncontrollable delays, the journey pass will dynamically update with the details of the next available flight.
• Simplified Communication: Passengers will promptly receive notifications about delay-based itinerary changes directly on their mobile devices.

“Currently, airline systems are very siloed,” explains Viale. The current model requires a series of separate systems to coordinate, often clumsily. The new dynamic journey pass endeavors to offer continuous integration for a more holistic traveler experience.

Preparing for the Future

The path to a digitalized air travel experience will necessitate major adjustments across the aviation industry. However, should the transition proceed as planned, we may be on the brink of an era where air travel is both more convenient and intelligently connected.

The impending changes by ICAO, coupled with the technological capabilities of companies like Amadeus, mark the dawn of a new age in air transport that promises to enhance the efficiency and ease of the passenger journey while bolstering security and maintaining privacy.

With the right balance of innovation and precaution, the air travel industry is poised to leap into a future where boarding passes and check-in processes become digitally streamlined, transforming the global travel experience for passengers worldwide.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/11/boarding-passes-and-check-in-to-be-scrapped-in-air-travel-shake-up-plans