Five ways the pandemic may change airports for the better

Five ways the pandemic may change airports for the better

It's widely anticipated that airports will transition to touchless technology at a much quicker rate as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.. Dubai International Airport has a "smart tunnel" that uses biometrics to speed up immigration control.. "Last year, more than 12 million passengers used the smart gates and biometric tunnel for passport control there," said Liddell.. "With the use of smart technology, the airport would assign passengers a dedicated time slot to enter the security checkpoint," said Hudson.. " the strategy will allow airports to anticipate and manage passenger loads, while helping passengers minimize contact with other passengers and contaminated surfaces.". Programs such as Global Entry rely on biometrics to zip enrollees past long immigration and security lines.. The TSA PreCheck program in the United States - which deals exclusively with security lines - is testing biometric technology (it currently manually compares passengers to their photo IDs).. "As travelers, we have to opt into the process and become more comfortable with sharing our private information," said Hudson.. Louisville's airport has installed a virtual information booth where passengers can speak to a representative through a live video feed.. Etihad Airways is testing kiosks in Abu Dhabi International