Oliver Wyman in collaboration with the WTTC recently launched a paper which offered global guidelines around the adoption of innovative digital technologies to enable safe and seamless travel. The paper lays out several best practice recommendations for biometric-enabled digital identities and their use across the end-to-end traveler journey.

Denver International Airport has been one of the early adopters with their pilot program and are leading the pack with biometric capabilities. In this episode of the Velocity Podcast, Chris McLaughlin, Chief Operating Officer at Denver International Airport, joins Oliver Wyman’s transportation experts Scott Boland-Krouse and Lawrence Burka for a unique insight into the success and learnings from the biometric program.  

Increasing health and safety across the travel ecosystem involves two critical needs: First, a touchless experience across all journey touchpoints. Second, the ability to share traveler information (such as identity, health, and travel history) in a secure manner with government agencies and travel providers.

A traveler’s digital profile would consist of several digital “containers” that store various groups of information, such as:

• Biographic and biometric data derived from government-issued identification, such as a machine readable e-passport, driver’s license, or identification card; and a live face capture (compliant with international standards)
• Health certification, including vaccinations, immunizations, and testing
• Recent travel history, possibly including contact tracing scores. Travel history must include travel across official and unofficial borders within large countries (such as states within the United States, countries within the European Union, or regions in China). Note: Travel history standards must take into account the risk of discrimination by border agents.
• Immigration visa or other immigration documents
• Payment information and loyalty program credentials and preferences