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April 15, 2025
The future of travel could soon be paperless. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is working on standards for "Digital Travel Credentials" (DTC), a cryptographically secured digital counterpart to the physical passport. These digital travel documents are to be securely stored on smartphones, similar to mobile payment systems, and could be rolled out across the board in the coming years.
A core element of this system is the "Journey Pass." It acts as a digital container on the smartphone and bundles not only the DTC, but also all relevant flight data such as boarding times and gate information. A key advantage is the automatic update in case of flight changes. Travelers no longer have to actively seek out new information, which significantly simplifies the travel process.
Passenger identification is carried out via facial recognition. Cameras capture individual facial features, from which a biometric template is created using AI-supported algorithms. This is compared with the data of the digital travel document to verify the identity in real time. "Liveness Detection" prevents attempts at deception with photos or masks. To ensure data protection, ideally only encrypted comparison data or a "Match/No-Match" signal is transmitted.
Pilot projects, such as the biometric controls at Frankfurt Airport, are already demonstrating the practicality of this technology.
The introduction of digital travel documents offers enormous potential for increased efficiency and convenience. Technology providers are working on platforms that enable this change. However, in addition to the advantages, there are also challenges to overcome.
Data protection is paramount. In addition to the rapid deletion of transaction data, "Privacy by Design" and data minimization are central principles. Strong encryption and transparent data processing rules are essential.
Another hurdle is global interoperability. For the system to work worldwide, the DTCs and recognition systems of different manufacturers, airlines, and airports must communicate seamlessly with each other. This requires common standards and significant investments in airport infrastructure.
The new Saudi Arabian airline Riyadh Air is planning a fully digital approach from the start of operations. It is expected that physical boarding passes will disappear completely in the next few years and be replaced by biometric procedures. Alternative identification options such as iris or fingerprint scans are also being considered.
The vision of traveling with one's face and smartphone as a universal key is getting closer. The coming years will show how quickly the technical and regulatory challenges can be solved and how the balance between convenience, security, and data protection will be ensured. The digital transformation in air travel, however, is irreversible.
