The International Air Transport Association has passed a resolution calling for quicker implementation of the One ID concept, in which passengers use biometric identifiers rather than paper documentation for travel. Specifically, IATA is calling on the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization to endorse digital travel credential specifications, which will serve as an alternative to passports, and for the aviation industry to work with governments to develop global standards around identity data. IATA SVP of airport, passenger, cargo and security Nick Careen spoke at the IATA Annual General Meeting last month as to why quicker adoption of One ID is necessary, considering the projected growth in global travel over the coming decades.
Traveling is a significant benefit to us all and is growing at a rapid rate, and we need to take down barriers to that as we move forward. Destinations around the world still require, on average, two-thirds of the world's population to obtain visas. That's a stumbling block. Emerging economies, ironically, tend to be more open. Central and North Africa and North America are the most restrictive. Airport capacity is also a concern and is holding back this growth. IATA estimates the 100 biggest airports in terms of passenger volume will need major infrastructure investment to meet the demands of the future, and we do not expect that to happen in the next 10 years at the rate that is required.
Our vision is an end-to-end passenger experience that is seamless and efficient. We need to harvest the power of data to open up our borders and improve passenger processing efficiency.
In terms of open borders, we need to encourage states to revisit the visa regimes, using data and interactive application programming interface systems and promoting the removal of traditional visas and noninteractive e-visas. Visas today are cumbersome and expensive and have lengthy processes. If e-visas are introduced, they should be linked to the interactive API so airlines are certain that a traveler has the proper authorization to travel, reducing the risk of inadmissibles.
We need automated border control, which should allow for processing more passengers at a time.
We want to see known-traveler programs be extended. This allows for greater deployment of these types of technology to allow for faster movement of our customers through the journey. Today, we make 100 percent of people go through the same process when we're really looking for 1 percent or less for behavior. We'll never be able to build a facility large enough with the growth we are anticipating if we don't look at it differently.
We are making some progress in terms of open borders, but we're still not there yet. We will continue to work with ICAO and other organizations on this.
The passenger process should be a paperless process, friction free. Your identification is yourself, using biometrics to get through. The technology is there, and the process is simple. You book your flight and register your biometrics to identify yourself, and from that point forward, the only thing required to travel is you. You do it at a walking pace because you no longer need to be checked and checked. It could happen tomorrow, and an airport could do it today.
We want to take that one step further, so we can do it from one airport to another. Take a look at the facilities today. When you are on an international flight and get off at arrivals and are going down an escalator and walking down the hall, you see people on the other side of that glass. Why do you think that glass is there? We can't commingle because of antiquated rules. If this information is shared form one jurisdiction to another—and the APIs are there today—we could eliminate all of that. I'd like to see a study to see what could be freed up in capacity of an airport in being able to eliminate that. The benefits for a customer would be fewer checks, shorter connection times and better asset utilization because aircraft aren't sitting on the ground as long.
One issue that will come up because of the inappropriate behavior in respect to our data in other jurisdictions is that in order to get to this point, we need to make sure data is secure, and our vision is to make sure we take care of that. In a global passenger survey, 65 percent of passengers were willing to surrender whatever it takes to make this process at the airport better. As we roll this out, we can address concerns, and over time, we believe, we can overcome those.
The opportunities are immense and can be done. We just aren't there yet. We will be utilizing this resolution to indicate to governments and ICAO that this is something that has to happen.
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