Just in: American Airlines made it easier for a passenger to check-in for international flights 

Are you flying internationally with American Airlines? Don’t forget to download the airline’s mobile app so you can save time and effort when you’re at the airport. American Airlines was able to introduce a passport chip scanning to the app. This will help in reducing the need to have staff to scan the passport at the airport.

Such a feature marks the first airline company to use the technology known as Near Field Communication (NFC) and this can securely transmit valid passport information. The same technology is being used behind the so-called cashless payment systems like Apple Pay. For amerinow, it’s just available for a single trip with only one person on the reservation list but eventually, it will be upgraded to reservations even if it involved several travelers including families.

We’re here to give you ideas on how it functions. A passenger can check-in for an international flight through the app and it requires to enter some basic information. Your mobile device, either iOS or Android, will then use to scan the chip on the back page of the passport. Please note that the passport should still be shown upon boarding however, it doesn’t need to be opened nor scanned. This will surely save passengers and even employees time.

According to Kevin MacFarland, the Managing Director of Digital Customer Experience for American Airlines, this new feature will be a big help with some cases wherein passports were not able to scan on a domestic leg for those international trips that have connecting flights. One best example is from Albuquerque to Santiago, Chile, via Dallas Fort Worth.

There are some instances wherein the passenger is just pulled out of the boarding line before their international flights after agents find out that such passports are not yet scanned or have been checked. On average, 50 passengers on normal wide-body aircraft need to have their passport checked before they can board on their connecting flight. Besides, this new technology being introduced in the airline company also eliminates stress at the gate.

Those travelers who make use of the American Airlines’ official website, the ticket counter, skycap or even kiosk at the airport terminal instead of using the mobile app that can be downloaded, will still need to have their passport ready to be checked at the airport premises.