AirAsia has introduced a new way face recognition feature for passengers boarding flights at the Avalon Airport in Melbourne, Australia.

The new system called Faces, which stands for Fast Airport Clearance Experience System, scans passengers’ face for identification prior to boarding.

Passengers may choose to use this new biometric identification system or present their boarding pass to security personnel which is the normal procedure.

AirAsia X chief executive officer Benyamin Ismail said the system was meant to make boarding seamless.

“Boarding is often a time-consuming process and many passengers would like to enjoy a shorter commute time.

“With Faces, passengers only need to scan their face to verify their identity and they will be out of the airport and inside the aircraft within 15 minutes, ” he said.

Faces was implemented at the Senai International Airport (Johor) in 2018 and the Kuching International Airport (Sarawak) early this year.

To use Faces, passenger need to upload a video of their face via the AirAsia mobile app and then  scan their passport before receiving a one-time QR code to verify the video.

Anyone travelling with minor children and underage passengers are not eligible to sign up for Faces.

Asked if there were any security concerns with Faces due to collection of personal information, Benyamin said AirAsia had complied with privacy laws.

“Faces is optional and passengers can still use the normal boarding process if they wish, ” he said.

The launch of Faces at Avalon Airport marked yet another milestone in its business relationship with AirAsia.

The airport, which began handling international flights last year, saw some 500,000 passengers flying in via AirAsia this year.

Currently, AirAsia flies twice daily to and from Avalon after it signed a 10-year deal with the airport in 2018. 

Airport chief executive officer Justin Giddings hopes for a closer strategic partnership between the two corporations.

“It was a challenge to meet the diverse demographics of the new people who arrived at our airport.

“It took us 12 months to get the necessary facilities up and running and we are grateful to AirAsia for the trust they gave us, ” he said.