IDEMIA, the global leader in identity technology, is partnering with a Dutch Consortium consisting of the Ministry of Justice & Security, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Defence/Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, co-funded by the European Commission. IDEMIA is the technology partner for the world’s first transatlantic Digital Travel Credential Pilot.
IDEMIA is the technology provider for the European Union (EU) DTC-1 Pilot. The program was launched by the European Commission (EC) to test the DTC on KLM flights between Canada and the Netherlands for three months.
DTC is a virtual credential derived from a state-issued passport and stored on the holder’s smartphone. It is an exact representation of the electronic machine-readable travel document which includes the holder’s biographical data and facial image.
From a security perspective, passport checks at different checkpoints of the journey are considered to be crucial. By applying digital technologies to improve this essential process, IDEMIA is contributing to making it more convenient for travellers while safeguarding their privacy and security.
Participating travellers can create their DTC on a dedicated mobile app that is able to read the chip of a physical travel document. Travellers can then take a selfie, which will be compared to the photo stored in the chip of their travel document. Once created, they will be able to share in advance the data and entry questionnaire relevant to their journey with the airline for biometric boarding and to border control authorities for biometric border crossing purposes. Only a biometric match and a tap of the passport is necessary upon arrival.
This pilot facilitates the traveller’s journey, making it smoother, faster, and more comfortable, all the while safeguarding their security and privacy.
Belgian, Canadian, and Dutch passengers traveling from Montreal to Amsterdam via KLM and willing to participate in the pilot will still have to bring a physical passport.
The pilot is co-funded by the European Commission in order to be tested and approved in real-life boarding and border conditions for three months, before most likely being deployed at a broader European level.
“We are very proud to provide our technology to the Consortium that put European innovation as a banner. IDEMIA has always worked in the Identity & Travel Industry to continuously innovate and maintain safe and smooth travel in the face of complex security challenges. The DTC-1 pilot is taking seamless travel one step further by simplifying the travel process, safeguarding privacy, security, and global interoperability.”
Sources/References:
Identity Week
Since 2006 Identity Week Identity Week has been serving the global identity community through its events and publications, bringing together stakeholders across all disciplines and sectors to dialogue, create insight and promote collaboration and innovation. The Identity Week portal features three channels: Security Document World, Planet Biometrics and Digital ID.
