Learn How Air Canada is Shaping the Future of Air Travel with AWS Partner OARO and Amazon Rekognition

Founded in 1937, Air Canada serves more than 200 global destinations. The airline has long championed the use of biometrics for IDV, but due to Canadian privacy laws, it has been restricted from implementing these advancements—until recently.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, airports, airlines, and the government embraced touchless experiences. In this environment, Air Canada saw an opportunity to build an IDV solution that would not only meet Canadian and General Data Protection Regulation requirements, but would exceed them. To complete its mission, it turned to OARO, an AWS Partner that specializes in identity access management.

Working with Air Canada, OARO developed a secure IDV solution using Amazon Rekognition—a service that extracts information and insights from images and videos. This solution, hosted on the Air Canada mobile app, verifies the traveler’s identity against their government-issued ID within seconds. Personally identifiable information is stored on the traveler’s device and remains in the traveler’s control. “Biometrics is facilitated through an anonymized process, maintaining an even higher standard of privacy than called for by Canadian or General Data Protection Regulation requirements,” says Mike Maxwell, aviation leader at OARO.

Air Canada and OARO conducted multiple tests to assess the solution’s performance, yielding an accuracy rate of up to 99.9 percent, with some instances scoring above 99.9 percent. To address concerns about racial bias in facial recognition, it underwent rigorous testing. The results also dispelled myths about the technology’s limitations and reinforced its fairness.

Air Canada first rolled out the IDV solution at the Vancouver International Airport to help passengers board domestic flights using only their faces. At the Toronto Pearson International Airport, the solution helps travelers check into its Maple Leaf Lounges faster and more seamlessly. Once fully implemented, the airline expects to see a 20 percent increase in traveler onboarding throughput. Air Canada plans to expand its IDV program to more airports and travelers’ lounges, and AWS will continue to provide the technology that makes these capabilities possible.

“We want to roll this out to every airport in Canada,” says Peter LeBlanc, director of application development and maintenance at Air Canada. “As this momentum takes off, we can tap into resources and find solutions that we need, when we need them, on AWS.”