Biometrics at the Gate

My first experience with facial recognition boarding happened recently at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).

I wasn’t expecting it. I suddenly realised that Business Class passengers and status holders (including myself) were lining up one by one at the gate in several rows to have our faces scanned. A split second later, your name and seat number would pop up on a small screen, and the gate would swing open. There was no human intervention at all—just a few gate agents standing by to supervise.

In a sense, the experience is nothing new, as we are already accustomed to having our faces scanned at passport control. In fact, at HKIA, that had already happened twice before I even reached the gate, bringing the total to three scans.

I went through with zero issues. It was an interesting experience, especially seeing my seat number flash up instantly. They knew exactly where I was going! All this information must have been linked when the check-in agent processed my luggage. At passport control, they only verify your identity and check whether you’ve overstayed your visa; they don’t actually scan your boarding pass.

It seems this biometric system will be the standard way we board planes in the near future. Is it quicker? That is the real question. It will certainly save some time and is probably less fallible. However, given that you’ve already made it this far after being checked once or twice before, I can’t help but wonder: if security hasn’t caught someone at passport control, are they really going to catch them at the departure gate?

While there is an impressive amount of biometric technology streamlining departures in Hong Kong, the arrival experience is a completely different story. If you are not a resident or a frequent visitor, the immigration lines can be painfully long, sometimes with two to four planeloads of passengers arriving at once. That can mean up to 1,000 people needing to be processed as quickly as possible.

HKIA definitely needs to catch up on the arrivals side. Separating visitors more efficiently—grouping those who require visas, those who can access e-Gates, and so on—would do wonders to keep the crowd flowing.

Hong Kong residents have had e-Gates for a while…and since I am due back in Hong Kong in October 2026, I will report here on whether any changes have been made to Immigration at Arrivals!

Cheers!

Note: The system at HKIA is called Flight Token and was rolled out in phases and fully implemented on 25 October 2022. More information about Flight Token can be found on the HKIA website.