Airport security

Orlando airport to be nation's first to facial ID all international fliers

More than 200 passengers queued at Orlando International Airport for a recent evening departure to London, shuffling to a pair of subway-style gates, stepping onto yellow footprints and then looking up at cameras a bit more than an arm’s length away.

After their faces came into focus on the cameras’ screens, the gate doors parted, allowing the passengers to find their seats on a waiting Boeing 777.

The passengers had shown no boarding pass, passport or any other identification.

Instead, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection computer was comparing each traveler’s passport photo on file – or a visa photo of those not from the U.S. – with their newly captured portrait.

It was as quick as a Google search for most passengers. The British Airways waiting area emptied in 15 minutes, nearly half the ordinary time.