Aruba just opened its HAPPY FLOW: An innovative passenger process, unique in the world
A unique and innovative passenger pilot project was launched at Aruba Airport:Aruba. Passengers traveling on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines between Aruba and Amsterdam will begin to be subjected to what airlines, airports, governments, and their vendors and suppliers envision as the “passenger experience” of the future: an integrated biometric panopticon in which travelers are identified and tracked at each stage of their passage through the airport by surveillance cameras and automated facial recognition. The vendor and the airline call this touchless total tracking, “Happy Flow”.
Travelers won’t have to identify themselves: They will be identified in spite of themselves. Travelers won’t have to worry about whether they are dealing with, or providing information to, the airline or the airport or a government agency or a third party: The biometrics project makes it possible for passengers flying to Europe, to scan their passport and boarding pass on arrival and link this to a picture of their face. This gives passengers the ability to go through all the steps at the airport (baggage drop-off, border control and boarding) by showing their face to a camera before boarding the aircraft.
The Happy Flow concept will make it possible to travel from Aruba to Amsterdam with a simple passport check on Aruba. This means that passengers have been pre-cleared on Aruba for all Schengen countries and will not have to check in for a second time upon arrival at Schiphol. This is a perfect example of Aruba being the gateway to Europe.