Biometric identity verification software veriScan®, a passenger-screening system developed wholly in-house by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s Office of Technology, processed its 1 millionth outbound international passenger last week, just over a year since its 2018 debut.

Designed in response to a congressional mandate and requirements from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), veriScan streamlines biometric passenger verification and enables paperless boarding on commercial airline flights leaving the United States.

“When we set out to meet the congressional safety and security mandate, we took it as an opportunity not only to meet the biometric compliance standards, but to use it as a springboard to help create a better airport experience for our passengers,” said Goutam Kundu, chief information officer for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. “VeriScan has gained the attention and support of other airports and airlines because it’s cost-effective, extremely simple to deploy and allows passengers to board flights with ease.”

VeriScan interfaces with the CBP Traveler Verification Service for nearly instant identity verification, exceeding the processing-time requirements set forth by CBP. When integrated with airline departure control systems, veriScan further simplifies and expedites the boarding process, creating a “frictionless” experience by eliminating the need to show boarding passes or passports at the departure gate.

Unlike other facial-recognition systems, which may take up significant space and require the installation of large equipment and dedicated wiring and cabling, the veriScan system simply needs a Wi-Fi connection and portable mounting device. The solution is flexible to fit the airport infrastructure and gate setup and expedites the boarding process.

After debuting in the summer of 2018 at Washington Dulles International Airport, veriScan’s technology has been tapped into by airports and airlines across the United States, creating less hassle and document-juggling at the boarding gate for international passengers and shorter turnaround times for airlines while passengers are loaded.

To date, veriScan has been successfully implemented with 38 international air carriers in six U.S. airports and has processed more than 7,100 flights, with a verification success rate of 98.5 percent. Further, air carriers utilizing the paperless one-step verification and boarding process include Air France, KLM, jetBlue, Ethiopian and Emirates.

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For more information on the veriScan biometric boarding system, visit airportveriscan.com. A news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection on biometric entry and exit at Dulles International Airport is also available online.