Biometrics are coming to Berlin Brandenburg Airport with the introduction of the BER Traveller. Effective immediately, facial recognition will replace boarding passes for Lufthansa Group HON Circle Members and Senators.

Automated security

Berlin Brandenburg has introduced BER Traveller in collaboration with the Lufthansa Group. This new service is only available for priority passengers traveling on Lufthansa Group airlines, HON Circle Members, and Senators. Previously, in order to enter the priority lane for security, passengers would have to show their boarding passes. This is no longer the case, as priority passengers flying on Lufthansa Group airlines will have quick access to the priority security lane through a separate section utilizing facial recognition.

Head of Customer Experience Lufthansa Group, Heike Birlenbach said:

"We are improving our passengers travel experience in the long-term through contactless, biometric services since they make airport processes simpler and more efficient. I am pleased that we can now also offer this innovative service to our HON Circle Members and Senators in Berlin. Our customers greatly appreciate this new service at all locations where biometric checks have already been introduced."

New facial recognition system at BER

To utilize facial recognition, travelers must register their biometric data in an app called FastID. Travelers that meet the criteria to sign up for facial recognition will receive an email invitation to sign up from the airline.

Berlin Brandenburg and the Lufthansa Group plan on expanding the new biometric offerings over the next few months. This will include self-service check-in machines, boarding at the gate, and access to the Lufthansa Group Lounge through facial recognition.

With that said, the new biometric service is voluntary. The personal and biometric data is stored in the FastID app, and before each flight, travelers are given the option to use the biometric service for their next flight. Travelers have complete control of the data in the FastID app and can delete the information at any point.

The biometric service will take photos through cameras installed at process points and match the images taken with the passengers' biometrical data from FastID.

Biometrics - a growing trend worldwide

Over the past few years, many airports and airlines have begun using biometrics to process passengers.

Berlin Brandenburg will not be the only airport in Germany to use face recognition biometrics for processing passengers. Starting in the spring of 2023, in partnership with IT provider Sita and electronic company NEC, Frankfurt Airport will trial complete biometric processing for passengers who want to use it.

The trail, in partnership with Fraport Group, the operator of Frankfurt Airport, allows travelers to utilize the biometric tech all the way from check-in to boarding just by scanning their faces at the biometric checkpoints throughout the airport. There will be no need to display their passport or boarding pass.

Lufthansa Group at Berlin Brandenburg

All of the Lufthansa Group Airlines: Lufthansa, Austrian, Brussels, Swiss, and Eurowings all offer nonstop flights from BER and operate from Terminal 1. Even though Lufthansa does not have a hub at BER, it flies up to twelve daily feeder flights to its hubs at Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC).

Austrian, Brussels, and Swiss all offer multiple daily flights connecting Berlin with their hubs at Vienna (VIE), Brussels (BRU), and Zurich (ZRH). Furthermore, the Lufthansa Group's low-cost carrier, Eurowings, serves almost 30 destinations from BER and bases six aircraft at the airport.

In October 2020, Berlin Brandenburg finally opened after over nine years of delays and replaced the smaller Tegel and Schoenefeld airports creating a central aviation gateway for the German capital.