Airlines at JFK Airport rolling out facial recognition technology

NEW YORK - New technology being rolled out at JFK Airport will give passengers access to ticketless boarding by using facial scanning.

The technology firm Vision Box has partnered with Customs and Border Protection on facial screening or “biometric boarding” technology, which officials say is faster and more secure, but has privacy advocates expressing concerns.

Experts from the American Civil Liberties Union say that despite the technology starting to roll out at more airports nationwide, many questions remain unanswered.

“How is this information going to be collected? How long will it be retained? Will it be used in other ways and shared with federal agencies like the FBI?” said Neema Singh Guliani, Senior Legislative Counse for the ACLU.

Customs and Border Protection officials say that the biometric data of U.S. travelers is not stored for long periods of time.

The new technology comes amidst the news that Airbus is experimenting with a new “connected” airplane that would track everything we do on a plane, including how often passengers use the bathroom.