CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Long travel trips may not feel as long for U.S. passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International airport because of new technology.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says facial recognition technology is designed to reduce wait times for international travelers like Paul Tsoucholos, who are eager to get home.
“You just stand in front of a camera. It scans your face, and the officer has your name and all your information,” he said.
And officials say that is how it works.
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The agency told Channel 2’s Cory James the facial recognition starts the paperwork for customs clearance, bringing what was once a two minute process down to one.
“Previously in a traditional setting, they have to focus on the computer system in order to process a passenger and then engage. In this scenario, it does it and captures the passenger on the move as they present themself in front of the camera,” said Clay Thomas of Customs and Border Protection.
The agency says the enhanced passenger process rolled out last month. Since then, there has been about a 40 to 50% drop in wait times.
It’s a welcomed change at the world’s busiest airport.
“On a peak day, we’re process upwards of 27,000 passengers so we’re always a great venue in order to test the technology” Thomas said.
But some passengers have reservations.
“I like it, but I want to make sure we’re using these biometric data we’re keeping it safe and secure it isn’t being used for anything it’s not supposed to be used for,” passenger Juan Castro said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the information is only stored for about eight hours and then it is wiped out.
They say it’s a tool making your arrival home faster and still safe.
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