Since July 1, 2024, Berlin Brandenburg Airport has been offering its passengers at BER an additional digital service: With BER Biometrics, it is now possible for all travelers to use various stations in Terminal 1 on departure via facial recognition and thus contactless without showing their boarding pass.
BER Biometrics Services
This includes printing out baggage labels at selected self-service machines, using the BER Runway with an extended time window and access to the BER Lounge Tegel after prior booking. This was preceded by a two-week test phase with a selected group of people.
The prerequisite for using BER Biometrics is registration via the SmartDepart app of a partner company together with a selfie. The offer can be booked from seven days before departure. A live image of the passenger is then taken on site in the terminal at explicitly designated and clearly demarcated stations. The SmartDepart app is used to compare the files from the app and the files from the pictures taken in the terminal and the corresponding service is activated.
Interested passengers can use BER Biometrics at two signposted self-service kiosks on the departures level, at the entrance to a control lane for the BER runway and at a column in front of the Tegel lounge. After the flight, the comparison data will be deleted by the app provider. The stored passenger data remains in the app, which the user can manage independently at any time.
BER Biometrics is a voluntary and free service for passengers aged 16 and over. It replaces the presentation of the boarding pass, but not the carrying of official travel documents including the boarding pass. As before, all services at BER Airport can still be used without BER Biometrics. For the technical implementation of the project, including the software solutions, the airport company worked together with its partner company AirSphere, whose software for boarding pass control is already in use at BER.
Thomas Hoff Andersson, Managing Director Operations at Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH: “BER Biometrics is a free service for interested passengers and is completely voluntary. The digital service enables them to plan and organize their stay at the airport more effectively. Thanks to contactless access to various process locations, users can reach their departure gate more conveniently and quickly. For the airport company, BER Biometrics is another building block towards a smart airport of the future.”
Frank Pfleiderer, Managing Director of AirSphere GmbH: “AirSphere and Berlin Brandenburg Airport have been working together successfully for many years on the automation of passenger handling processes. We are delighted to have BER as the first customer for our new SmartDepart app and to be able to offer passengers at BER a new travel experience. We will continue to expand the range of services in the app and will soon also be offering corresponding services via the app at other airports.”
Further information on BER Biometrics: biometrics.berlin-airport.de
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