Fact Sheet

Definition
The Issue

Over the past decade, limited airport physical infrastructure and enhanced security requirements have resulted in a
complicated and at times unsatisfactory passenger experience.

Individual stakeholders, such as airlines, airports, border control, customs and screening authorities, have designed
their processes around their own obligations and requirements, with little or no coordination between them.

This has resulted in repetitive processes for the passenger, such as having to present travel tokens (boarding passes,
passports, etc.) to many different stakeholders for different purposes across the end-to-end passenger experience.
This is inefficient and not sustainable in the long-term.

Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic, with complicated travel documents to be manually handled at the airport, showed
an urgent need to enable digitalized document checks in advance of travel.

One ID aims to address these issues while providing a passenger centric, seamless experience.

The Vision
IATA’s vision is to lead the industry in delivering an end-to-end passenger experience that is contactless, secure,
seamless and efficient.

One ID seeks to introduce a digital identity solution that spans all process steps and stakeholders in the end-to-end
journey, from booking to arrival at destination and back, putting the passenger at the center.

One ID will remove the repetitive processes of passengers having to present different travel documents to many
different stakeholders for different purposes during their journey.

The concept relies on early validation of the passengers’ identity and admissibility, and selective disclosure of this
information to the relying parties on a minimum required basis. This is done so that the passenger can be recognized
and attended to in the most efficient way in subsequent process steps.

The concept involves the use of trusted digital identity and proven biometric technology enabling a completely digitized
process that protects the passenger’s personal data at every step. . .

Objectives
1. Bring industry and government stakeholders together in establishing a common vision and roadmap for robust
and efficient digital identity management across the end-to-end passenger process that will help deliver a
secure, seamless and efficient experience

2. Develop Industry Standards and Guidance Documentation of best practices and drive or support the
implementation with harmonization and interoperability of trust frameworks, processes, data models, and data
interchange protocols.

June 2024
Status
• One ID Recommended Practice RP1701p Digitalization of Admissibility became effective in September 2022
and is available in the Passenger Services Conference Resolution Manual. This details the process whereby the
passenger can digitally demonstrate to the airline that they have all the required documents to travel (passport,
visa, other documentation) and that these documents are valid. The airline can then proceed with an automated
digital document checking and continue with remote check-in/boarding pass issuance (web/mobile check-in
as it is done today).

• One ID Recommended Practice RP1701o Contactless Travel became effective in October 2023 and was
published in June 2024. This RP aims to enable passengers to use biometric recognition for their identity
verification throughout the process in full respect of their privacy and protecting their personal data. It will help
remove the need for passengers to physically present documents at various touchpoints where proofs of
identity or travel documents are currently required and thus will enable passengers to pass through the airport
at a walking pace.

• The Customer Experience & Facilitation Working Group is working on evolving the standards and providing
guidance for implementation. It is composed of members from airlines, airports, governments, other
international organizations and IATA Strategic Partners, who are already actively involved in digital identity
trials and implementations.

• Under the Working Group, Task Forces, composed of actively involved industry and government
representatives, have been formed to support ongoing deliverables, such as Recommended Practices,
Guidance and Technical Implementation Documents. Initial RPs have been published and the Task Forces will
continue to work on delivering guidance.

• IATA launched a new One ID training course, One ID: Digital Identity and Biometrics Fundamentals, to further
support the industry with implementation of One ID solutions. In addition, IATA published a One ID Handbook to
guide the industry in understanding the technology used in digital identity and biometrics, importance of
privacy in the use of these technologies, and how trust is created and established.

• IATA, with industry partners, successfully tested the One ID standards in the first fully integrated digital identity
travel experience, from shopping for flights to arrival, on a journey from London Heathrow (LHR) to Rome
Fiumicino (FCO) with British Airways . IATA will continue to work with industry partners for more Proof of
Concepts and pilots to test the interoperability of digital identity credentials.

• Further information can be found on the One ID web page.

One ID benefits
• “Seamless” - improved passenger experience

o Elimination of repetitive processes and possible combination and reduction in the number of
touchpoints, and thus shorter queues and reduced waiting times

o Enabling passengers to arrive at the airport ready to fly in nearly every travel scenario

o It supports a contactless process by limiting physical interaction with people and equipment and
minimizing the exchange of documents.

• “Efficient” - improved productivity, capacity and cost savings

o Staffing efficiencies and increased capacity by reducing time spent on manual ID and travel document
checks
June 2024
 o Improved space efficiency and opportunities to mitigate additional investment in airport infrastructure

o Potential commercial opportunities for the industry

• “Secure” - improvements in border, aviation and airport infrastructure security

o Reduced possibilities for individuals to cross borders under a false identity, and thus helping combat
human trafficking and other cross-border criminal activities

o Elimination of queues and crowds in airport landside areas

o Enabling the possibility of risk-based assessment and differentiated handling at border and security
checkpoints through pre-travel verification.

June 2024