San Diego International Airport Deploys Facial Recognition

An airport in San Diego is utilizing facial recognition to speed up the screening of passengers.

• By Sydny Shepard
• Jul 05, 2018

San Diego International Airport has opened a new international arrivals facility that processes passengers "more efficiently" by using biometric technology, according to a local newspaper.

Arriving passengers will first be able to pick up their bags before going through passport control, which will take use of facial recognition technology for faster processing. Those with Global entry cards can complete their processing while waiting for their bags and then just scan the receipt.

“We are one of the first in the nation to implement 100 percent biometric or facial recognition technology for arriving international flights,” said CBP Deputy Director of Field Operations for San Diego, Anne Maricich. “Not only will this simplify the arrival process, it is a critical step in our national security mission.”

There are currently four gates to process passengers and construction is underway to add two more, which will enable their airport to process three wide-body and two narrow-body jets at the same time.

“It is phenomenal how fast this is,” added William Snyder, port director for CBP “It’s a game changer as far as processing.”

San Diego International Airport saw more than 400,000 international arrivals in 2017, up from 50,000 passengers a year in the early 1990s.