Private Passports: Coming Soon to an Airport Near You

In the Economist article Frisked, frazzled and fed up (subscription required,) reporter Richard Walker describes how airlines are working to minimize the hassles of security checkpoints by creating their own private “passport” systems. The problem is that despite all the amenities being offered to business and first class travelers, (special lounges, massages, etc.) “the biggest threat to the mental equilibrium of the passenger is not the airline check-in queue, but the security investigations that lie in wait just out of sight.”

Some European airlines have decided the solution is to cut special deals with airport security agencies—deals that the airlines can pass on to premium-paying customers. First-class and business-class passengers of British Airways at Heathrow and Gatwick airports are now conducted through “fast track” security and immigration procedures. Actually, the procedures are exactly the same as for passengers in economy: the difference is that there is a much shorter queue (and less bad temper). Passengers on BMI (British Midland International) can pay for the same service at Manchester as well as Heathrow.

The trend is spreading to Britain’s minor airports, too. If you have the right ticket, you can skip the queue at Leeds-Bradford and Southampton airports. And while British carriers have pioneered this new category of privilege, others are getting in on the act: Air Canada now offers security fast-tracking in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.

In Amsterdam, the Privium fast-track identity system at Schiphol Airport uses an iris scan to verify the identity of travelers and allows them to pass through security with relative ease. Biometric systems such as the Verified Identity Pass and the “Registered Traveller” program are being tested in the U.S. The article says we should expect national “fast-track” cards to become available later this year.

If all goes as planned, we should see these fast-track cards being used at sports events and other large-scale public gatherings.