Presenting Air Canada's digital identification system

What is the Air Canada digital identification system?

Air Canada’s digital identification (digital ID) is a system that uses facial recognition technology through the Air Canada mobile app to allow you to board select flights and access the Maple Leaf Lounge and the Air Canada Café without having to show your boarding pass or government ID.

What is the benefit of using the digital ID?

The benefit of using digital ID is that it is a hands-free way to travel through certain airport identity checkpoints like the boarding gate, Maple Leaf Lounge, and Air Canada Café without having to present your boarding pass and government ID. During your day of travel, you’ll be able use facial recognition cameras at various airport checkpoints for a seamless and convenient travel experience.

Is digital ID secure?
 
Digital ID is secure because your personal information is encrypted during transmission and storage. All biometrics created within digital ID are instantaneously destroyed after use, except those retained by Air Canada in encrypted form for 36 hours on the day you travel. For more information about the security features of digital ID, see the Air Canada digital identification Privacy Notice.

How does facial recognition technology work?

Facial recognition technology takes biological measurements of the face and creates numeric representations called a faceprint. Faceprints are compared to verify a person’s identity. Measurements of human physical features like the face are called biometrics.  

How does digital ID use my facial biometrics?

Digital ID uses your facial biometrics to verify your identity at two points: Once, when you create your digital profile on your device using the Air Canada mobile app, and then each time you elect to use facial recognition at the airport on the day you travel.

How are my facial biometrics used to create my digital profile?

Your facial biometrics are used to verify you as the person in your passport to create a digital profile.

When you create your digital profile, you will upload a selfie as well as the photo and other information from a passport to the Air Canada mobile app. Biometric technology will verify you as the person in the passport by creating faceprints from the image in your passport and your selfie and comparing them. If the faceprints match, these faceprints are immediately destroyed, and you are assigned a unique identifier, which is not based on your biometrics. The unique identifier is not biometric information.

The unique identifier is transmitted back to your mobile device and stored with your selfie and information from your passport (such as your name, date of birth, and passport number). This is your digital profile, to be used for digital ID when you travel. Your digital profile does not contain any biometric information.

How are my facial biometrics used when I travel?

Each time you check in for an Air Canada flight using the app and you choose to use digital ID, we will automatically send the selfie from your digital profile to a "day-of-travel" gallery and a faceprint will be created. Your selfie is immediately deleted. If your digital profile is successfully added to one or more airport checkpoints, a message will be displayed on the check-in confirmation screen, and you will also receive a push notification on your device.

When you present your face to a camera at certain airport identification checkpoints, a faceprint will be created from your live facial image to compare with faceprints in the day-of-travel gallery. If there is a match, you may board your flight or enter the Maple Leaf Lounge or Air Canada Café. The faceprint from your live camera image is instantaneously deleted.

When can I use the Air Canada digital ID?

You can use the digital ID at participating Canadian airports to board flights operated by Air Canada, including connecting Air Canada flights, and to access the Maple Leaf Lounge and Air Canada Café.

Is digital ID linked with a government-sponsored program?

No, digital ID is not related to any government-sponsored program like NEXUS, Global Entry or US CBP Mobile Passport Control (MPC). It is strictly an optional, consent-based Air Canada program.

Who can create a digital profile?

Provided they have a working embedded electronic chip passport, all Air Canada mobile app users who are 18 years of age and older can create a digital profile, even before a flight is booked on Air Canada, regardless of their country of citizenship.

Passports issued by all governments which meet these requirements are accepted during the creation of a digital profile.

Minors under 18 years of age may not enroll in digital ID and are still required to show their boarding pass and government ID.

What do I need to create a digital profile?

You will need a mobile device compatible with Apple iOS 13+ and Android 7.0+ operating systems equipped with a camera and NFC tag reader. You will also need to download the latest version of the Air Canada mobile app and have your government ID ready to complete the authentication process.

How do I create a digital profile?

Follow these instructions in the Air Canada mobile app, under digital identification:

1. Open the Air Canada mobile app
2. Tap the ‘Home’ tab from the secondary menu in the top left.
3. Select ‘Digital identification'
4. Select 'Add a digital profile', then consent to the information provided by selecting 'Create a digital profile'

Which government ID can I use to create my digital profile?

Any government-issued ePassport (a biometric passport with an electronic chip) may be used to create your digital profile.

Does the document I used to create my digital profile have to be the same document I travel with?

No. You can use a different identification document when you travel. However, please ensure that it meets transborder or international requirements for entry. A biometric passport with an electronic chip must be used to create your digital profile. While other forms of government ID may be accepted in some travel situations, Air Canada recommends all customers use and carry with them a valid passport for air travel.

Can I travel on Air Canada without using the digital ID?

Yes, digital ID is voluntary. If you don’t wish to participate, you can continue to check in and provide your identity document and boarding pass as usual.

If I create a digital profile, am I required to use it every time I travel?

No, you are free to use your boarding pass and government ID instead.

I am having trouble creating a digital profile. What should I do?
 
Should you experience any issues enrolling in this program, you can contact us through the feedback form within the Air Canada app. If problems persist, you can still travel through the airport and board your flight by showing your government ID and boarding pass to an airport agent.

How do I use digital ID for my trip?
 
To use digital ID for your trip, use the device where your digital profile was created on the Air Canada mobile app to check in for your Air Canada flight.

When your digital profile can be used for an upcoming trip, a message will be displayed on the check-in confirmation screen, and you will also receive a push notification on your device.

If you check in using another device or channel (e.g. kiosk or agent at the airport), you can still add your boarding pass(es) on the mobile device containing your digital profile, and when applicable, you will be given the option to use your digital profile.

Do I still need to bring my passport/travel identity document and my boarding pass if I am using digital ID?

Yes, you’ll still need to bring your passport and/or other travel identity document with you and have it accessible in your carry-on baggage to meet entry and exit requirements for international destinations, or for boarding purposes when connecting on flights operated by a partner airline or at airports where digital ID is not available. Security check points, immigration and customs requirements may vary depending on your destination. A passport and/or NEXUS card will still be required for transborder travel. Other government ID may be used for domestic Canadian travel where digital ID is not available.

Do I need to present the Air Canada mobile app to the facial recognition camera?

No. If you consented to the use of facial recognition when you created your digital profile on the Air Canada app, you only need to present your face.

Do I need to remove my mask or glasses when taking my selfie or using facial recognition cameras?

Glasses can be worn in your live selfie and while using facial recognition cameras. However, you will be required to remove your mask.

What personal information is in my digital profile?

Your digital profile consists of your unique identifier, your selfie, and information from your government ID, such as your name, date of birth, and document type and number. It does not contain any biometric information.

Who has access to my digital profile?

Only you have access to your digital profile, which exists only on your mobile device unless you share information from it with Air Canada during check-in to use digital ID on the day you travel. If so, information from your digital profile is shared only with Air Canada’s biometrics technology provider, who processes your personal information strictly in accordance with our instructions and solely for purposes of digital ID. Personal information in your digital profile is encrypted when it’s sent, processed, temporarily stored, and used for digital ID purposes only.

Information you share with Air Canada from your digital profile is deleted from Air Canada’s systems 36 hours after your flight departs.

Who has access to my facial biometrics?

With your consent, Air Canada’s biometric technology provider generates your facial biometrics (faceprints) to create your digital profile and verify your identity at the airport on the day you travel. It has access to and uses your facial biometrics strictly on Air Canada’s instructions and solely for the purposes of the digital ID.

Our provider does not retain any copy of your biometrics created and used for the authorized purposes. The faceprints generated to create your digital profile are deleted immediately after use for that purpose. The faceprint created by the airport facial recognition camera is immediately deleted after use. The faceprint created from your selfie and stored in the day-of-travel gallery is deleted within 36 hours of the departure of your flight.

What personal information is retained by Air Canada for digital ID?

Air Canada and its provider do not retain any personal information collected from you and used to create your digital profile and verify your identity at the airport on the day your travel. This information is deleted. Air Canada’s biometric technology provider retains a copy of the unique identifier that it assigns you for your digital profile. The faceprint created from your selfie and stored in the day-of-travel gallery is retained for 36 hours after your flight departs.

How is my personal information protected in digital ID?

Your personal information is encrypted and transmitted to and from your mobile device using a secure protocol. Your digital profile remains in your care, and you control it. On the day of your trip, your selfie and unique identifier from your digital profile are sent to Air Canada using the same secure protocol.

The biometric faceprint in the “day-of-travel” gallery is encrypted and deleted within 36 hours.

What are the privacy risks of using digital ID?

The privacy risks of using digital ID are minimal.

First, the digital profile creation is secure. The unique identifier created from your selfie and government photo ID is a random number that does not contain any identifying information or biometrics. Your government ID and selfie are not retained, except on your device.

The faceprints generated to create the digital profile are immediately deleted once a match is made between your selfie and your government ID photo. No copy is retained by Air Canada or its technology provider, and none is transmitted to your digital profile.

The faceprints generated on the day of travel are also secure. The faceprint created from the selfie sent to the day-of-travel gallery is encrypted. In the unlikely event that someone acting in bad faith breaks into the day-of-travel gallery, the only information they could access is the faceprint, which is a series of numbers. It is not possible to infer someone’s identity from a faceprint which cannot be reverse engineered without the algorithm that generated it. In the unlikely event that someone acting in bad faith gained access to the algorithm and faceprint, the only information they could access is a degree of similarity between the faceprint and a photo they might have, which has no real-world application.

How do I delete my digital profile?

To delete your digital profile, go to the ‘Digital identification’ section of the Air Canada mobile app, then swipe right-to-left on the digital profile you’d like to remove. Once you delete it from your mobile device, no copy exists, and you will no longer be able to use digital ID unless you choose to enrol again.

For more information, please view our full privacy policy below.