Aviation has always operated in tension.
Security versus speed. Oversight versus innovation. Infrastructure versus investment.
But according to Aware CEO Ajay Amlani and AirTera CEO Jiri Marousek in our recent webinar, the industry is entering a moment where it may no longer have to choose.
“We’re at a point where airports are being asked to raise the security bar while improving throughput at the same time,” Ajay noted during the discussion. “Biometrics create an interesting combination — both increased security and increased flow. Historically, that hasn’t been possible.”
As travel volumes surge and major global events approach, airports face renewed pressure to modernize aging infrastructure. The challenge isn’t simply deploying new technology, it’s doing so in a way that improves resilience without increasing friction.
For the first time, identity technology may allow the industry to accomplish both.
Security and Throughput: A False Tradeoff
For decades, aviation security improvements typically came at the cost of convenience. Longer lines. More manual checks. Increased dwell time at checkpoints.
Today, that paradigm is shifting.
“If we decrease wait times at security checkpoints by 10%, we can see roughly a 5% increase in business revenue behind security,” Jiri explained. “It’s a double win: improved security and increased revenue.”
Reduced friction drives passenger satisfaction. It also increases concession revenue and operational efficiency. In a margin-sensitive industry, those gains are significant.
Security modernization is no longer just a regulatory requirement, it’s an economic strategy.
Beyond the Badge: The Hidden Vulnerability Behind the Fence
While public attention tends to focus on passenger screening, Ajay and Jiri emphasized a critical area that receives far less visibility: worker identity.
Every day, thousands of employees, contractors, vendors, and crew members move through restricted airport areas. Historically, access has relied heavily on plastic badges.
But badges can be passed.
“There’s been a constant stream of incidents of people trading a piece of plastic,” Jiri said. “The emphasis has been on physical screening. But verifying the identity of the individual, that may be just as critical.”
Biometric verification at access points closes that gap. And importantly, it doesn’t require ripping out legacy infrastructure.
“We don’t need to dig up walls and replace everything with $80,000 machines,” Jiri noted. “You can verify identity using secure mobile devices. It’s scalable. It raises the security bar without massive hardware investment.”
Ajay added that stronger identity verification doesn’t just prevent misuse; it creates better data.
“If you generate cleaner, more reliable identity data, you improve oversight and post-incident response. That benefits airports, airlines, and regulators alike.”
Interoperability: Aviation’s Biggest Untapped Opportunity
The U.S. aviation ecosystem is uniquely complex. Thousands of airports. Multiple airlines. Federal agencies. Private charter operators. A workforce that frequently moves between locations.
Yet identity systems often operate in silos.
“We shouldn’t pretend there should be one provider for identity across the entire ecosystem,” Jiri said candidly. “But we do need systems that talk to each other. In security, our North Star can’t be a walled garden. It has to be what improves safety.”
Consider workforce mobility: approximately 60,000 crew members move between U.S. airports daily. Delays in badging or redundant verification processes don’t just create inconvenience, they disrupt operations.
“If the crew doesn’t get there,” Jiri pointed out, “nobody’s going anywhere.”
Shared identity frameworks, built on standards and interoperability, enable secure movement without sacrificing compliance requirements such as CHRC checks and RAP Back monitoring.
Efficiency and security, again, reinforce one another.
Don’t Forget Private Charter and the Broader Airspace
Another important theme: aviation security is bigger than commercial terminals.
More than four million passengers travel annually via private charter in the U.S., not including medical transport, emergency response, or cargo operations. Many of these movements occur at smaller airports with different infrastructure and oversight models.
“The National Airspace System is a national treasure,” Jiri said. “It’s not just the major hubs. It’s thousands of airports — regulated and unregulated — that make up the aviation asset of the United States.”
As global events increase charter traffic and cross-border activity, identity verification across the full aviation ecosystem becomes even more critical.
Security cannot stop at the jet bridge.
Procurement and the Need to “Open the Aperture”
Modernization, however, requires procurement models that allow innovation to compete.
Ajay and Jiri discussed the tension many RFPs create: calling for cutting-edge solutions while simultaneously requiring prior large-scale deployment.
“The aperture needs to open,” Jiri said. “We need to evaluate outcomes, not just hardware. Sometimes the most secure and fiscally responsible solution isn’t a giant machine — it’s a smarter system.”
Public-private partnerships and pilot programs offer a faster path to validation. Rather than defaulting to incumbent, hardware-heavy approaches, airports and regulators can test scalable, software-first identity solutions that meet cybersecurity and compliance requirements.
Innovation doesn’t have to mean risk when implemented thoughtfully.
Education, Adoption, and Optimism
Despite persistent narratives about resistance to biometrics, real-world deployments tell a different story.
“We unlock our phones with our faces every day,” Ajay said. “When the benefit is clear — less hassle, more speed — adoption follows.”
Transparency and opt-out options remain important. But when identity verification reduces friction and enhances safety, both passengers and employees tend to embrace it.
There is growing appetite across the industry, regardless of political cycles, to modernize aviation security in a way that is standards-based, interoperable, and fiscally responsible.
“We are a small part of something much bigger,” Jiri reflected. “Helping protect the aviation system, while making it work better, is meaningful work.”
And at this inflection point, identity may be the lever that allows aviation to strengthen security while unlocking scale.
Check out the webinar on-demand to hear Ajay and Jiri’s full conversation on biometrics, worker screening, interoperability, private charter security, and the future of aviation infrastructure.
