American Airlines Launches First Touchless ID Lanes
by Daniel McCarthy
American is looking to ramp up competition with Delta and United through a Porter codeshare dea. Photo: Robin Guess / Shutterstock.com
After announcing its intentions last year, American Airlines is officially rolling out its new Touchless ID lanes.
This week, the airline unveiled plans to debut the first lanes at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). The lanes allow eligible travelers to pass through airport security using facial recognition technology, eliminating the need to present a physical ID.
Flyers need a valid passport and a Known Traveler Number (KTN), which they get with PreCheck or another Known Traveler Program, and can opt-in through the American Airlines app. Once they do, their boarding passes will indicate access to the Digital ID lanes.
According to Upgraded Points, American will next add the Touchless ID lanes at Atlanta (ATL), New York LaGuardia (LGA), and Salt Lake City (SLC), with plans to expand to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Chicago O’Hare (ORD), and Miami (MIA) also on deck.
When American announced plans to add the lanes—already in use by Delta Air Lines and United Airlines—it said the goal was to help members “move more seamlessly from the airport lobby through TSA security to enjoy the next step in their travel.” The lanes are often the fastest option at TSA checkpoints, reducing the average transaction time with an agent from 20–25 seconds to just 7–10 seconds, according to Delta.
