CBP Previews Future of Biometric Exit at GBTA Legislative Summit

John Wagner, Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations for Customs and Border Protection provided an overview of the new biometric exit model at the 15^th Annual GBTA Legislative Summit, an event that brings more than 100 travel professionals to Washington, D.C. to meet with lawmakers to share opinions on key issues.

Wagner told attendees that the agency is deploying new technologies to verify travelers’ identities when arriving and departing the United States. He discussed several of those programs and technologies such as Global Entry.

He also told attendees about the Atlanta Biometric Exit Experiment, which is in partnership with Delta Airlines. The Experiment is to see if CBP’s systems can compare images of travelers departing the United States via facial recognition against images previously provided from a passport or ID.

Wagner said the experiment was going well and hadn’t added to boarding times either. The camera is in the boarding area and only takes a couple of seconds to take the photo. Taking a picture is an easy process and one which is less imposing than providing fingerprints.

He concluded with ideas and concepts that might be borne from this program making it so much easier and more efficient for travelers to get through the airport system while still being able to maintain the highest level of security. The future looks bright for biometrics.