Perth Airport Pioneers First Biometric Departure Process in Australia with Amadeus

Perth Airport in Western Australia has partnered with Amadeus to deliver an industry-leading biometric passenger system from check-in to boarding powered by Amadeus’ open platform and seamless travel touchpoints.

The airport is significantly expanding its self-service capacity by introducing close to 100 new check-in kiosks and replacing nearly 40 traditional check-in counters with bag drop units from Amadeus. 

All touchpoints are equipped with Amadeus’ biometrics capabilities, delivering a simple, smooth and contactless passenger experience from check-in to boarding. 

Travelers, with selected airlines, will be able to check-in and opt for biometrics at self-service kiosks. Then when dropping bag and boarding the aircraft, passports and boarding passes can remain in the passenger’s pocket. Instead, a brief face scan is all that’s needed to validate the passenger’s identity and retrieve their travel records.  

“We know that passengers want their departure experience to be hassle free so by harnessing automation, these upgrades deliver a seamless experience for their journey," said Scott Woodward, Chief Operating Officer, Perth Airport. "This provides both our airline partners and travelers with the flexibility they need to ensure a smooth and efficient journey for everyone.The passenger experience is paramount and with new automated technologies we can serve more passengers to a higher standard, supporting the growth of our airport.” 

Sarah Samuel, Senior Vice President, Airport & Airline Operations, APAC, Amadeus added: “Using platform technology and security measures like tokenization, airports can create digital representations of a passenger’s data. Once that’s achieved, all it takes is a couple of seconds to perform a facial scan to validate the passenger at bag drop or boarding.

"This transformational technology is a game-changer for the industry, helping airports and airlines to serve many more passengers within the same physical terminal space, while vastly simplifying the check-in experience. Most airports can’t easily add physical capacity, but technology advances mean we can serve more passengers with existing infrastructure.” 

This latest project builds on the long-term collaboration between Amadeus and Perth Airport, dating back to 2015 when Perth Airport originally installed Amadeus’ cloud-based passenger processing systems. The two organizations began experimenting with biometrics in 2022 through a series of trials, which have culminated in today’s decision to apply the technology widely across the airport.