Thursday 28 Mar 2024
By
main news image

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on January 30, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is piloting its single token journey concept at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). The concept leverages on facial recognition technology to provide passengers with a single identification verification which is used at all airport touchpoints from check-in to the boarding gate.

MAHB, in a statement yesterday, said passengers travelling to Japan were the first to experience the concept, which is being piloted for three months in collaboration with Malaysia Airlines Bhd and aviation information technology company Sita.

During this period, passengers on two daily Malaysia Airlines flights to Narita International Airport, Tokyo and Kansai International Airport, Osaka will be able to enjoy the convenience.

The pilot forms part of the Airports 4.0 initiative, which aims to transform KLIA into a smart airport through the use of big data analytics, said MAHB.

Facial recognition scanners have been placed at check-in counters H5 to H8, and e-gates have been placed at the security screening touchpoints and at the boarding gates, and passengers will only need to scan their faces to verify their token at all touchpoints and no longer need to present their passports or boarding passes when going through these checkpoints.

“Our main focus in moving forward is to strengthen Malaysia’s position as an aviation hub. We will ensure that services at our airports are at par with other mega hubs around the world.

“Harnessing technology for this purpose is one way we can simplify airport processes for our guests. This initiative is especially timely in view of Visit Malaysia 2020. We expect to have a successful pilot so that we can implement this in totality at KUL (KLIA),” said MAHB acting group chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh.

Malaysia Aviation Group CEO Captain Izham Ismail said the new concept will help in addressing the queue at the check-in counters, especially during busy periods.

“The single token journey concept is a collaboration with MAHB, which will allow our passengers to enjoy reduced check-in time and identity verification within seconds.

“The single-token will also help manage the queue at our check-in counters, especially during peak periods, and we hope to fully adopt this system by fourth quarter of 2020,” he said.

      Print
      Text Size
      Share