American Airlines Adds Passport Chip Scanning to Mobile App

American Airlines has become one of the first airlines in the world to offer passport chip scanning as part of its mobile app.

The technology transmits the required passport information directly from the NFC chip embedded in the passport and allows passengers to head directly to the gate for international flights without having their passports rechecked by a customer service agent.

“We are continuously adding features to our app to make travel easier and worry-free for our customers,” said Maya Leibman, American’s Chief Information Officer. “Mobile passport scanning removes a time-consuming step, providing our customers with a smoother check-in experience for international flights.”

Currently, customers departing on international flights who check in on the app, have their passports rechecked at the airport. This step is required even if the customer has uploaded a photo of their passport via the mobile app. With this new enhancement, the customer will be prompted to enter their passport information and then scan their passport with an iOS or Android device. The app provides easy-to-follow instructions for the process.

Mobile passport scanning is the latest in a long line of new customer features American has implemented to the airline’s app to make travel easier for customers. Other recent introductions include boarding notifications, Siri shortcuts and a dark mode option.

American has also rolled out additional services to improve the travel experiences, including biometric international boarding, virtual 3D aircraft tours online, a redesigned self-service kiosk menu that simplifies the check-in process and an improved family  seating approach, which ensures adults and kids under 14, when traveling together on the same reservation, are seated together.

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