WASHINGTON (TVR) – Smile the next time you check your luggage.

Delta announced Monday it would be the first airline in the U.S. to use facial recognition technology at its self-service baggage drop areas, part of an expansion of a wide array of biometrics at airports across the country.

The $600,000 trial will match a passenger’s face with their passport photos to “securely and easily check their own bags.”

“We expect this investment and new process to save customers time,” Gareth Joyce, Delta’s Senior Vice President of Airport Customer Service and Cargo, said in a release.

“And, since customers can operate the biometric-based bag drop machine independently, we see a future where Delta agents will be freed up to seek out travelers and deliver more proactive and thoughtful customer service.”

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Facial Recognition to Begin at MSP Airport

Delta said it would launch its facial recognition trial at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP), one of its hubs, this summer.

Initially, there will be four of the self-service bag drop machines available; one of them will use the facial recognition technology.

The airline says it will collect feedback from customers who use the machines, which it says could double the number of passengers per hour.

“This is the next step in curating an airport experience that integrates thoughtful innovation from start to finish,” Joyce said in the announcement.

“We’re making travel easier than ever for our customers and continuing to deliver a leading customer experience.”

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More Facial Recognition Coming

More facial recognition technology will be coming to U.S. airports in the next few months.

A spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection tells The Voyage Report it is “accelerating” deployment of a biometric exit system for passengers leaving the country by air.

The facial recognition cameras are already in use at the boarding door of one flight a day at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).

CBP began using them on a flight to Tokyo last year and then switched to a Mexico City flight in September.

The agency tells The Voyage Report it will implement the program “at additional airports over the course of the next several months.”

Other biometrics are already in place.

CLEAR biometric security is a privately-run service that allows travelers to move to the front of the security line at airport checkpoints, for an annual fee.

Travelers do not need to show ID, only a boarding pass and either a fingerprint or iris scan.

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Delta Expands Use of High-Tech

Delta said its experiment with facial recognition is part of an investment into high-tech systems so it can “streamline airport processes.”

It touted its rollout of radio frequency identification technology (RFID) that allows passengers to track checked luggage on a map inside its Fly Delta app.

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It also implemented automated screening lanes at its Atlanta hub to speed up TSA checkpoints.

GOL Airlines in Brazil recently announced it will launch the world’s “first facial recognition-based check-in” for passengers in June.

Called the “Selfie Check-in,” it will be used for all domestic and international flights, the release said.

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