Air New Zealand and Hong Kong International Airport have become the first organisations to achieve the International Air Transport Association’s One ID Certification following a biometric trial.
The new certification gives airlines, airports and governments assurance that an organisation’s use of digital identity and biometrics for facial recognition to pass through airports meets IATA’s global standards.
NZ’s chief customer and digital officer Jeremy O’Brien says the trial showed how digital identity could work across borders, reducing the need for documentation and queuing, and also demonstrated that customers can trust the airline to keep their data safe. “The certification recognises the work we’ve done to date and the importance we place on protecting our customers’ personal information as we explore new ways to improve the travel experience over time,” he says.
. . . Smooth Journey
Flight Token is HKG’s self-service biometric identification system, enabling passengers to travel through key airport checkpoints using facial recognition. Today, more than 80% of departing passengers are eligible to use Flight Token across all checkpoints of the departure journey. Since its launch in 2021, more than 93 million passengers have used Flight Token.
. . . What Is It?
One ID is a set of global industry standards for using digital identity and biometrics across the passenger journey.
These support a journey where passengers confirm their identity and travel documents before reaching the airport, then pass through checkpoints using facial recognition instead of repeatedly showing their passport and boarding pass.
IATA’s 2026 Global Passenger Survey found that 78% of passengers would be willing to share their biometric information in order to avoid having to present physical travel documentation at airport checkpoints.
