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Biometrics

Contactless travel using facial recognition: Vienna Airport starts as a Star Alliance Biometrics provider in November 2021

From 9 November 2021, passengers at Vienna International Airport will be able to use Star Alliance Biometrics, a Star Alliance product, to take advantage of facial recognition on their way through the airport and pass through selected checkpoints before security and at the boarding gate without contact using biometric identification.

How does Star Alliance Biometrics work?

Registered Miles & More members of Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa and Swiss who agree to participate in Star Alliance Biometrics can now pass through the boarding card check in Terminal 3 and the boarding gates in selected test areas in Vienna without contact.

Once a registered passenger enters a biometric gate, there is no need to manually swipe a boarding pass. The face is automatically captured by the camera and matched against the stored profile in the Star Biometric Hub, confirming that there is also a current flight booking for that passenger on that day. If there is a positive match, the gate opens automatically and the passenger can continue on their way through the airport.

At the same time, the currently obligatory mouth-nose protection can still be worn during the biometric identity check, because identification is also possible with a mask.

All biometric touchpoints at Vienna Airport are clearly marked with the Star Alliance Biometrics logo.

This makes Vienna the third European airport, after Frankfurt and Munich, to offer this service.

Star Alliance Biometrics registration

Every Austrian Miles & More member can now register for Star Alliance Biometrics via the Miles & More app.

After logging into the Miles & More app, registration can be started by selecting Star Alliance Biometrics in the profile settings. If the passenger does not yet have a Miles & More account, they can register free of charge.

Registering with the Star Biometric Hub consists of a few very simple steps:

Passengers only need to enrol once and can subsequently use their biometric data multiple times at participating airports' biometric touchpoints whenever they travel with a Star Alliance airline that offers Star Alliance Biometrics.

Miles & More APP

Step 1

Set PIN and security questions

Step 2

Take a selfie

Step 3

Confirm identity with passport

Step 4

Submit a consent Declaration at which airports and with which airlines the service is to be used.

Data protection and security

Personal data of registered passengers, such as photos and other identifiers, are encrypted and securely stored within the Star Alliance Biometrics platform. The system has been developed in compliance with applicable data protection laws and based on the latest facial recognition technology. The storage of personal data is kept to a necessary minimum. For example, no customer names are stored.

On site at Vienna Airport, only the images of those persons who enter the clearly marked biometric touchpoints are captured. The captured images are deleted immediately after successful identification or after rejection (e.g. if an unregistered passenger enters the biometric touchpoint by mistake). You can find more information on data protection in the Privacy policy.

What is Star Alliance Biometrics and where can I use it?

Star Alliance Biometrics is a Star Alliance product that allows passengers at Vienna Airport to pass through the boarding pass control point and selected boarding gates in a touchless manner by means of facial recognition.

When a registered passenger travels through a participating airport and with a participating airline, the Star Alliance Biometrics facial recognition software matches the passenger’s live image with their boarding pass information and biometric profile, allowing the passenger to pass through enabled touchpoints in a touchless manner.

Once a registered passenger enters a biometric access point, there is no need to manually present a boarding pass. Rather, the passenger’s face will be automatically detected by the camera and the image will be matched in the Star Biometric Hub. The matching not only takes into account whether the passenger is registered, but also whether the passenger has a current flight booking on that day. In case of a positive match, the access point will open automatically, and the passenger can continue their journey through the airport.

The system is currently available at Vienna Airport (VIE), Frankfurt Airport (FRA) and Munich Airport (MUC) for passengers travelling with Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa or SWISS.

No. Star Alliance Biometrics is a Star Alliance product.

Registration and Data Processing

Any Austrian Miles & More member can register for Star Alliance Biometrics via the Miles & More App. After logging into the Miles & More App, the registration can be started by selecting Star Alliance Biometrics within the profile settings. If the passenger does not yet have a Miles & More account, they can register for free. The registration on the Star Biometric Hub consists of a few very simple steps - create a PIN and security questions, take a selfie, confirm identity with a passport and provide consent, stating at which airports and with which airlines you would like to use the service.
Miles & More members of Lufthansa and SWISS can register via the Lufthansa App.

No, passengers only need to register once to use Star Alliance Biometrics at all participating airports.

The Star Alliance biometric profile will be active 24 hours after registration, at the latest.

Star Alliance Biometrics stores the registered frequent flyer number, up to five images of the passenger, the passport expiration date, the PIN and security questions. The passenger’s name is not stored.

Star Alliance encrypts and stores the passengers’ profiles and data in the Microsoft Azure Cloud hosted in Europe. The data is subject to and protected by EU privacy laws. Airlines and airports will not have access to passengers’ biometric profile data.

The Star Alliance App requires the validated Miles & More number of the passenger, as Star Alliance Biometrics connects the number to the passenger’s biometric profile. The passenger’s name is only required to match the name on the passport to the name on the Miles & More account. After a successful match, the name is not stored.

The registration process usually takes around three to ten minutes. If the process is idle for too long, a timeout will occur, and passengers may have to restart the registration.

Yes, passengers can delete their biometric profile at any time. Simply select "Delete Biometric Profile" under "Profile Management" in the Star Alliance App.

Passengers can use the "Send Feedback" function under "Settings" within the Star Alliance App.

Passengers can use the "Send Feedback" function under "Settings" within the Star Alliance App, in order to be routed to the appropriate service desk.

No, passengers are required to register using an Android or iOS mobile phone. Tablets or iPads are not recommended for the registration process.

Use at Airports

Passengers need to register for Star Alliance Biometrics, enter their Star Alliance Biometrics-registered frequent flyer number in their flight booking and use the clearly designated Star Alliance Biometrics access points at the airport.

All touchpoints that are equipped with the biometric identification system are clearly signed with the Star Alliance Biometrics logo and the text ”Biometrischer Zugang/Biometric Access”.

No. It is not necessary to remove a mask for the biometric identity check. The system works for passengers wearing masks.

Passengers can still proceed at a touchpoint by using their boarding pass. 

Yes, passengers are always required to carry their ID/passport. The biometric identification at certain touchpoints does not replace the ID/passport check at the airport.

Yes, passengers are required to carry their boarding pass as there are touchpoints that are not equipped with biometric identification.

The images are transmitted to Star Alliance Biometrics exclusively for identification.

The images are deleted immediately and completely after transmission to Star Alliance Biometrics.

No, images of non-registered passengers are not stored at biometric touchpoints. Only registered passengers are generally permitted to use the biometric touchpoints. Nevertheless, if a non-registered passenger wants to pass through a biometric touchpoint, this can only happen by presenting a boarding pass. More detailed information can be found at https://www.viennaairport.com/dataprotection.
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