Biometric screenings at airports, once viewed with fear and skepticism, are now preferred and even expected by travelers around the world, according to a report from air transport technology company Sita.
“The more passengers use it, the more they like it,” the report said.
Globally, the number of people who have not used biometric technology at airports has fallen to 31% this year from 41% in 2024, the report said.
Comfort levels are increasing as consumers use biometric identification to access everything from their mobile phone to their workplace, said Sarah Samuel, senior vice president of airport and airline operations in Asia Pacific at travel technology company Amadeus.
Citing the influence of Uber and Netflix, the expectation is that “everything is on-demand these days” — including travel, she said.
Biometric technology is most popular among younger travelers, men and frequent flyers, according to Sita's 2025 Passenger IT Insights report, published on October 6, which surveyed some 7,500 passengers at airports in 25 countries.
According to the report, acceptance rates are highest at airports in Asia Pacific and the Middle East/Africa.
“In APAC, uptake is certainly very high,” says Samuel, referring to the region's young population and high mobile phone penetration. “We are ahead of the curve compared to most other parts of the world.”
Amadeus helped roll out biometric processing at various points in airports in Singapore, Japan, Australia, India and, most recently, Bali.
“You used to have huge, very long immigration queues” in Bali, she said. Now “it's an empty hall.”
Increasing comfort with digital IDs
Amadeus is preparing to launch 'proximity biometrics' soon, Samuel said. The technology works through a digital identity wallet stored on passengers' phones, which connects to various touchpoints throughout the airport. However, all data is deleted once the passenger walks away, she said.
She said the technology will be launched in the Asia-Pacific next year.
Biometric versus traditional border controls
62% of flyers indicate they prefer biometric checkpoints to traditional border counters
Digital IDs, which store passport and other data on travelers' phones, will transform travel as digital wallets have transformed payments, Sita's report said.
Passengers are now also more accepting of this idea, with comfort levels rising from 74% in 2024 to 79% in 2025, it found. Most travelers said they also feel comfortable sharing their digital identity and biometrics before traveling, the report said.
As more young and digitally savvy consumers take to flying, the number of digital identity users will increase from 155 million in 2024 to 1.27 billion in 2029, according to Sita.
Data privacy concerns
Travelers can embrace the speed and convenience of biometric processing, but most still have concerns about it, according to Sita's report.
Only 3% of travelers said they were not concerned about biometric identification, it found.
Digital IDs could reduce passengers' worries about losing their passports, while fears about losing their phones increase, data shows.
Even in the Asia-Pacific region, where technology is often quickly embraced, many travelers say they don't feel comfortable sharing personal data with online travel platforms, according to a survey by data analytics firm Qlik.
The survey of more than 4,000 people found that travelers are more willing to share certain data they have already provided in online apps, such as budgets and booking history. However, information regarding their live locations was at the bottom of the list.
Indian respondents reported having the least concerns about data privacy. Meanwhile, Japanese travelers expressed the most concern, with some 34% saying they were uncomfortable sharing data of any kind, the survey found.
“India has a much younger population compared to Japan,” Amadeus said' Samuel, adding that technology adoption rates at airports also vary by culture and age.
But the lure of faster, more efficient travel, with fewer documents and airport bottlenecks, is hard to resist.
Samuel said she travels lighter these days because most of what she needs — including her ID and credit cards — is stored electronically.
“I've had taxi drivers say, are you sure you're ready to travel? … You don't have a handbag,” she said. “I'm like…I have everything on my phone.”
— CNBC's Kaela Ling contributed to this report.
