The role of biometric applications in air transport security

Abstract

As the number of air passengers continues to increase worldwide, so do the security demands and challenges in the air transport industry, particularly in lieu of numerous recent terrorist attacks. One of the essential requirements in fulfilling these needs resides in the accurate and timely identification of passengers and other participants in the air transport flow. Biometrics represents identification of individuals based on their quantifi-able biological characteristics in automatic pattern recognition systems and is considered one of the most reliable means for personal identification. It is, therefore, not surprising that biometric technologies have an increasing presence in the air transportation industry. The intent of this review is to familiarize readers with biometric tools aimed at establishing and maintaining high security at airports and during flight, as well as to point out promising emerging biometric applications in the field.