SAS goes biometric with luggage

Passengers travelling on SAS Sverige domestic flights will now have to give their fingerprints not for personal identification purposes, but to claim their luggage. SAS says 50% of their domestic passengers travel with baggage and will benefit from what they hope will be a fast and easy service.

The passengers fingerprints will be stored temporarily upon check-in, and then checked again to assure that the person who checks the bags is in fact the rightful owner. Commercial Director for SAS Sverige Susanne Dahlberg says, “Identifying yourselves by providing fingerprints will facilitate our customers’ travel and is entirely voluntary since the use of ordinary ID documents is still an option. Personal integrity is protected because the information concerning the fingerprint is erased at the end of the flight.

Surveys from our domestic destinations show that customers are very positive to biometrics and the possibility of facilitating travel. Consequently, passengers travelling with SAS from Arlanda and Gothenburg should also be given the opportunity to utilize this option. The next step is that we are also planning to make this possible for our customers on international flights.”

www.sas.se