AirAsia has officially launched an all-new version of its facial recognition system, FACES that aims to make travelling and shopping a seamless experience. A successor to the original system which was launched at Johor Bahru’s Senai International Airport in 2018, the biometric system will be used in everything within AirAsia’s Super App ecosystem, which the company claims is the first of such an implementation in the world.
At the moment, the new FACES can only be used for customers to board flights at KLIA2, although it will be expanded to all Malaysian airports within the next 12 months. AirAsia says that the system will soon be upgraded to enable users to check-in, do self baggage drop, pass through security checks, and more with just their face.
In addition to that, the airline is planning to roll out other features including the ability to pay for your flights, rides, in-flight meals and merchandise, and food and grocery deliveries. Food delivery riders will be able to use FACES to verify the recipient, making sure they don’t deliver the food to the wrong person. The biometric authorisation will also extend to checking in at partner hotels in the future.
Users who wish to enroll in FACES have to go through a one-time verification on the AirAsia Super App by using their IC or passport and a selfie. Once you’ve done that, you will also need an AirAsia staff at the airport to manually verify you for the system by showing them your identification document. Those who don’t have a phone can enroll through the airline’s Service Desk at the airport.
AirAsia says that even if somebody else books your flight for you, you can still check-in and board using FACES as long as the details in the booking matches your registered details. For families travelling together, there is a group check-in feature, but it requires each individual over 18 to be enrolled and verified for FACES.
While it’s only available in Malaysia for now, AirAsia mentioned that they’ve gotten regulatory approval in all the countries they operate in. The company is now working to implement FACES in the Philippines sometime during the first quarter of 2022.
