The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has announced plans to introduce a biometric identity verification platform that will enable passengers travelling through domestic airports to board flights without presenting physical means of identification.
The new platform, known as V-Pass, was unveiled on Thursday through the authority’s official X account as part of FAAN’s broader digital transformation programme aimed at enhancing airport security, streamlining passenger processing and improving the overall travel experience.
Under the initiative, passengers will undergo a one-time registration process, after which their identities will be authenticated through facial recognition technology at automated electronic gates installed at domestic terminals.
Explaining how the system will operate, FAAN’s Director of Commercial and Business Development, Adebola Joy Agunbiade, said travellers enrolled on the platform would no longer need to produce physical identity cards during check-in or boarding procedures.
“There’s no more going to be having to use your physical ID to go to the check-in or when it’s time to go through the boarding gate.
“Once I check in for my flight, I get to the e-gate, I’m recognised using my biometrics, which is my face.
“If I forget my ID at home, as long as I have been registered and onboarded on the V-Pass platform, I really don’t need that. My identification is my face,” she said.
According to Agunbiade, the introduction of facial recognition technology is expected to strengthen security measures at airports by providing a more reliable means of verifying passenger identities while significantly reducing waiting times and easing passenger movement through terminal facilities.
She noted that the digital platform would also enable FAAN and domestic airlines to maintain a more comprehensive and accurate database of passengers using Nigeria’s airports.
In announcing the initiative, the authority assured the public that the V-Pass system has been developed with strong safeguards for personal information and complies with the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR).
Although FAAN did not specify a rollout date, the authority said the facial recognition technology forms part of its ongoing efforts to modernise airport operations and improve service delivery across the country’s domestic aviation sector.
The authority is yet to announce when passenger enrolment will commence or provide a timeline for the deployment of the biometric system across Nigeria’s domestic airports.
(Ripples)