THY to launch facial recognition for boarding

ISTANBUL

The flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) will roll out its facial recognition system to streamline the boarding process in İzmir and Istanbul, two major cities in Türkiye.

THY initiated this significant project to expedite the boarding process by 50 percent as part of its ongoing digitization efforts.

The initiative was initially tested on THY flights at Miami and Boston Airports in the U.S., yielding successful outcomes.

Along with two Turkish cities, the technology will also be implemented in the South Korean capital of Seoul in the near future.

“Turkish Airlines continues ascending up in the digitization leadership by commencing its biometric journey,” said THY Deputy General Manager Kerem Kızıltunç.

"Our initiative, which commenced in Boston and Miami, offers the potential to reduce boarding times by as much as 50 percent. We plan to introduce contactless boarding procedures in Seoul, İzmir and Istanbul shortly, with other stations and competences following suit,” he further added.

As per Turkish Airlines' 10-month figures covering January to October this year, the airline carried around 72.2 million passengers.

In October, the international and domestic occupancy rates stood at 82.5 and 84.6 percent, respectively, while the overall passenger occupancy rate was constant at 82.7 percent compared to the same period last year.

However, the total number of passengers fell by 2.9 percent to 7.1 million, down from 7.4 million in October, compared to the same period in 2023.

The fleet size increased to 472 aircraft by the end of the month.