- American Airlines announced recently that it updated its app to support a passport scanning feature
American Airlines recently announced that it has updated its app to support a passport scanning feature. Using the American Airlines app, travelers can scan the NFC-based chip so travelers can verify their identities themselves.
By adding this feature, American Airlines is the first airline to launch this feature on an app.
“We are continuously adding features to our app to make travel easier and worry-free for our customers,” said American chief information officer Maya Leibman. “Mobile passport scanning removes a time-consuming step, providing our customers with a smoother check-in experience for international flights.”
And American Airlines spokesperson Andrea Koos pointed out that just a small percentage of app users will have access to the feature right away. But it is being rolled out to all users soon. And the feature currently works for just single-traveler PNRs. However, it will also be expanded to support multi-passenger itineraries in the future.
It’s worth mentioning that some countries may not issue passports with NFC chips embedded in it. And several countries embed the NFC chips in areas that are different from the U.S. such as behind the back cover of the passport.
In an interview with USA Today, American Airlines managing director of digital customer experience Kevin MacFarland noted that the new feature will be useful in cases where passports were not scanned on the domestic leg of an international trip with a connection. So this could reduce stress at the gate.
