Opt Out of Facial Scans, Request a Private Screening—Every Flier Has These Basic Airport Rights

09.02.2024 - 15:34 / afar.com / Airlines

Airline passengers who curtailed travel for several years during the pandemic are reacclimating to the airport experience and might be encountering surprising new procedures and technologies along the way, such as biometrics and new screening methods.

These developments, many of which began before the global health crisis but have since accelerated, can be unsettling. Knowing what to expect and whether participation is mandatory or voluntary can make the unfamiliar less daunting.

Here are the airport rights travelers need to know about during different stages of the airport journey.

The use ofbiometrics, such as facial recognition technology or fingerprinting, is on the rise in air travel and isn’t going away. The airlines, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) all began implementing facial recognition technology prior to the pandemic, but the technology has since proliferated as a touchless, tech-driven alternative for verifying identities.

Facial recognition technology is being installed at airports across the country and used by many airlines during flight boarding to reduce staffing needs and improve speed and efficiency of certain airport procedures. For some travelers, this is a welcome way to expedite the travel experience. For others, it raises privacy and accuracy concerns.

There may come a time when it is more difficult to avoid facial scans, but for now, airlines, CBP and TSA say they are voluntary and that passengers can opt out.

TSA agents are required to ensure no airline passenger has an illegal weapon, contraband, or explosive. Sometimes that means making physical contact with passengers to confirm they aren’t carrying prohibited items. If a pat-down scenario arises, passengers have the right to request their screening occur in a private room.

TSA loosened the screening procedures for children under 12 and adults over 75 several years ago in an attempt to focus on higher-risk age categories. “What it came down to is that if you look at everybody, then you look at nobody,” said Jeffrey Price, an airport and aviation security expert from Metropolitan State University of Denver.

The guidelines are somewhat vague but generally permit older adults and young children to keep on shoes and light jackets when passing through the body scanners.

“Are there going to be gaps in the system because of that?” Price said. “Yes. But it comes down to what is an acceptable level of risk for aviation.”

Digital privacy at airports is one of the murkiest elements of air travel, and it has become even cloudier in recent years.

Shortly before the pandemic, U.S. courts began limiting government officials’ rights to search travelers’ electronics, including