Delta Airlines is introducing four self-service bag drop machines at Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport this summer, one of which will be equipped with facial recognition technology.
In addition to allowing customers to check in their own bags, the US$600,000 investment will trial facial recognition technology to match customers with their passport photos through identification verification, a first for US carriers.
The airline hopes the new additions will streamline airport processes and further improve customer satisfaction.
Gareth Joyce, senior vice president for airport customer service and cargo at Delta, said, “We expect this investment and new process to save customers time.
“And, since customers can operate the biometric-based bag-drop machine independently, we see a future where Delta agents will be freed up to seek out travelers and deliver more proactive and thoughtful customer service.”
The bag-drop technology is complemented by Delta’s radio frequency identification technology and its previous self-service innovations such as ticketing kiosks and check-in via the Fly Delta app.
The airline will collect customer feedback during the trial and run process analyses to ensure that the lobby enhancement improves the overall customer experience.
