Speaking at the IATA annual general meeting, Gloria Guevara, chief executive of the World Travel & Tourism Council, has urged aviation industry leaders to support the IATA One ID initiative.

Guevara encouraged airlines to assign resources to support the global pursuit of common standards and interoperability for the benefit of the entire tourism sector.

She added: “Biometric technology is the future of travel.

“It’s very simple: the faster we act, the faster we all reap the benefits of growth that accompany the adoption of biometrics – namely increased security, efficiencies and a better traveller journey.

“We have missed the opportunity to have a single solution; so it is crucial that we move faster to define the global standards for the use of technology in the traveller journey.

“I would like to congratulate IATA for its One ID initiative and we wholeheartedly support the resolution at this year’s AGM to encourage the faster global implementation of biometric passenger recognition.

“I urge airlines to assign resources to this initiative, and to work with IATA and WTTC on interoperability across the entire sector. 

The IATA annual general meeting, hosted by Korean Air, brought together 1,000 industry leaders in Seoul.

Addressing delegates Guevara continued: “We know that, according to IATA the number of air travellers will double by 2037.

“And it is clear that we will not see an increase of 100 per cent in existing infrastructure, so it is important to get this right.

“Those companies which support and adopt biometrics early will have a competitive advantage in the market, so it’s up to airlines to support IATA in this important task.”

She added “WTTC, which represents the global private sector of tourism, is working with IATA to introduce biometric technology into the non-aviation element of the traveller journey to provide a seamless experience.

“Last year, WTTC brought together more than 200 leaders from across travel, technology and government to drive this forward.

“We have been working to understand, map and explore how technology can be used to facilitate seamless travel.

“Through this endeavour, we have come across at least 53 different implementations and trials in six regions across the world.

“As an industry, our efforts are fragmented, with competing agendas and no end-to-end seamless journey currently in development.”