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Delta to use facial-recognition tech to check bags
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Delta Air Lines announced Monday that it will launch a facial recognition feature for checking bags at the airport. - photo by Josh Furlong

Delta Air Lines announced Monday it will launch a facial recognition feature for checking bags at the airport.

The company said its customers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport this summer will be able to obtain a boarding pass from a kiosk station and then check the bag using facial-recognition technology. The technology, which is the first for airlines in the U.S., will match customers using their passport photo.

Delta said it believes the new technology will help save customers time and will free up employees to provide a “more proactive and thoughtful customer service.”

The facial-recognition technology announcement is the latest way Delta has tried to streamline the airport process. In May 2016, the company opened up what it called “Innovation Lanes” at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to help the congestion with the Transportation Security Administration. An automated bin line separates bags into five different lines to help keep lines moving.

“This is the next step in curating an airport experience that integrates thoughtful innovation from start to finish,” Delta Senior Vice President Gareth Joyce said. “We’re making travel easier than ever for our customers and continuing to deliver a leading customer experience.”

Delta said it will collect customer feedback on the facial-recognition technology in an effort to make it more widely available. It added that a study conducted by the company found that the new technology will allow twice as many customers an hour.