Even before COVID-19, safety and operational efficiency were major ongoing challenges for airports, driven by continuous growth in air traffic. The pandemic then brought huge disruption to the airports sector – initially through a drastic reduction in traffic, and subsequently through the need to impose new constraints on normal operations as it began recovering (ie. testing and social distancing).
Of course, airports must prepare for increased traffic while COVID-19 is still around, but must also find ways to boost their resilience to potential future pandemics, or similar crises. Maintaining operational efficiency irrespective of the constraints, while maximising safety and ensuring smooth passenger flows through airports, are among operators’ top priorities.
Well before the pandemic, Thales was guiding its public and private customers – particularly airports – through the digital transformation. In acquiring Gemalto, Thales added further to its expertise in several different areas, meaning significant benefits for its airport customers. Our experience in air transport (encompassing civil avionics, IFE systems, ATC, and airport security and supervision systems) dovetails neatly with Gemalto’s expertise in biometric solutions.
We already had expertise in biometric solutions and identity verification, and were fully aware of their importance beyond the travel market. For example, the need to identify individuals in both the physical and digital worlds, and the need to offer users quick and easy ways to provide authentication, both in person and remotely (for example, to open a bank account, book a rental car, sign a contract, and so on).
For many years, Thales has been developing innovative ways to modernise airports, enhance the passenger experience, and help operators become more efficient, and the need for a contactless approach had already been identified as a key part of the digital transformation process. The current global health crisis has brought this into sharper focus, and made the need more pressing. Ultimately, airport operators can only win back passengers’ trust in a post-pandemic world if they can prove their capability to comply with future procedures and regulation, and maximise safety for travellers while ensuring their door-to-door travel experience is as smooth and seamless as possible.
To be implemented effectively, ‘new normal’ procedures, regulations and social distancing measures must be underpinned by technology and services of the highest calibre. Thanks to its end-to-end capabilities and cross-sector insights, Thales is perfectly placed to improve passengers’ journeys in a post-COVID-19 context, optimising the flow of goods and people, and creating a contactless biometric experience.
More than ever, the safety of individuals is a key concern for everyone. This means airport operators have to face up to new challenges at every ‘touchpoint’, and reassure passengers of their safety and comfort. Thales puts safety at the centre of its offering, providing airport operators and airlines with smart, innovative ways to guarantee optimum protection for passengers, staff and facilities. That includes development and deployment of technologies to automate each step in the security screening and border control process, without compromising safety or security, while offering passengers contactless, seamless journeys.
Thales puts safety at the centre of its offering, providing airport operators and airlines with smart, innovative ways to guarantee optimum protection for passengers, staff and facilities.
Peter Smallridge, Sales Director for Borders and Travel in the UK
As a global leader in digital security, Thales has created a complete self-service airport experience for passengers that reduces processing times by 80%. Thanks to Thales technology, airports can create a fast, secure biometric pathway for passengers, thereby all but eliminating long queues during check-in, bag drop and border controls.
Meanwhile, Thales’ Fly to Gate solution supports multimodal biometric verification as well as reliable document verification. The technology is based on the creation of an identity token, following initial verification at enrolment/check-in. This temporary token is then used by the passenger at each subsequent identity check as they pass through the airport in a transparent, fully self-service process based on strong verification of the traveller's data and identity.
The French interior ministry recently awarded Thales a contract to upgrade its Schengen area entry/exit system in time for the deadline fixed by the EU, and in line with the new European requirement.
Thales will supply the border kiosk infrastructure, which will incorporate several of the firm’s biometric technologies as part of a multimodal self-service experience, based on passport verification and face/fingerprint capture. This will enable France to comply with European regulations on entry/exit systems (EES), while ensuring seamless passenger flows and enhancing the security of border controls.