AirAsia FACES will enable instant flight, hotel and ride-hailing bookings with a quick facial scan

AirAsia has officially launched FACES (Fast Airport Clearance Experience System) in Malaysia which uses facial recognition to provide a fully digital and contactless journey on AirAsia flights. Integrated into the AirAsia super app, the feature will soon be expanded to cover other travel and lifestyle categories.

Instant facial verification for contactless experience on AirAsia flights

At the moment, AirAsia FACES has been rolled out for air travel on selected flights departing from KLIA2. Users in Malaysia can already enroll their faces on the super app ( Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Huawei AppGallery.) and then verify their documents at the service desk in the airport. Once activated, your face will replace your boarding pass, making it more convenient when you board your next flight.

AirAsia Aviation Group CEO Bo Lingam said “FACES is the latest contactless technological innovation that we have developed in-house, as part of our strict COVID-19 mitigation procedures and as we welcome the resumption of interstate travel now and international travel in the near future.”

He added, “Importantly, guests flying with us can check-in online anywhere, anytime in just a click of the button once registered with FACES, supporting our efforts to restore confidence in air travel through technology and enhanced safety measures. Research has shown travelers feel safer using touchless processing throughout the airport.”

AirAsia Philippines to launch FACES in Q1 2022

During today’s event, it was also revealed that FACES is being rolled out in the Philippines. The employees will pilot the feature while awaiting the regulatory approval process in the country. According to the statement, AirAsia Philippines guests and users of the Super App are set to experience FACES sometime in Q1 2022.

FACES to enable instant payment for AirAsia Super App transactions

Besides the boarding process, AirAsia plans to expand the facial recognition feature across more touchpoints including self baggage drop. The company also intends to use FACES to confirm mobile payment in the app for food delivery, hotel, flight bookings, and also AirAsia Ride in the future.

Amanda Woo, the CEO of AirAsia Super App said “In the future, we even envisage enabling guests to be able to check-in for hotels affiliated with AirAsia using FACES for real-time verification and check in. Our teams are already working to fully integrate facial recognition technology into our overall Fintech capabilities accessing new and exciting features within the super app.”

In case you missed it, you can check out our preview of AirAsia FACES at KLIA2.