Founded in 2016 and valued at approximately $4.4 billion last year, Zamna UK is a strategic partner of the International Air Transport Association and is focused on the exploration of identity in the aviation industry, formerly known as VChain Technology. the company is currently using blockchain technology to enable the sharing and verification of passenger information between airlines, governments and security agencies, thereby significantly improving security screening efficiency .
Connecting a silo of information
Blockchain technology has been popular for several years, and the application of blockchain to the security screening field sounds like a natural fit, but when we look deeper, we find that it still has some eye-catching aspects.
It is understood that passenger data sets are currently relatively isolated between airlines, governments and security agencies, and Zamna hopes to link and validate this data through blockchain. This, they say, could reduce manual or other forms of screening by more than 90 percent, which would mean a qualitative leap in security screening efficiency.
Theoretically, over time, as more and more passenger identification information is digitally verified and securely shared between parties. By using an intermediate blockchain to maintain data security and passenger privacy, the security process at airports will become very seamless and fluid. Passengers will not need any physical identity documents and will not encounter duplicate ID checks.
Sharing while protecting privacy
The Zamna platform works like this: first the system pulls data from their API biometric platform without sharing it with three parties. This verified data is attached to an anonymous token, and airlines, airports and governments can verify the security of the token without actually "seeing" the data held by the agency or competing airlines. Any of these players can then use Zamna's technology to verify passenger biometric data and check the passenger's identity using encryption technology.
The company reduces its burden and passengers rejoice
In an interview with TechCrunch, Irra Ariella Khi, co-founder and CEO of Zamna, said, "People actually have an expectation that when you arrive at the airport, the airline knows who you are and the security agencies know who you are, as if by magic. The authorities at both the origin and destination know that you are flying between their countries and have determined that it is legal and safe to do so. There has even been some exchange of information between the security services regarding your identity to ensure that both you and your fellow passengers can safely board the same plane."
"However, this is far from the truth. Airlines and government agencies do not have an easy and secure way to share or cross-reference your data, which remains isolated from each other (for data protection purposes). As a result, you will encounter manual checks time and time again, no matter how many times you have flown with the airline. It is important for airlines to perform "identity verification" to confirm that the documents you carry are consistent with your identity.
There are three major trends in this area. Governments are requiring airlines to provide more accurate passenger data and have increased fines for airlines providing incorrect data. Secondly, airlines are also required to receive and assist in the processing of passengers and baggage that are denied entry by governments because of incorrect data, and the cost of these is high. Finally, the number of passengers using electronic transit authorizations, or ETAs, is increasing every year, and governments and airlines also need to match passenger data exactly to the relevant ETAs to confirm identity.
The result is that airlines are conducting more and more documentation and identity checks at airports, regardless of whether the passenger is a frequent flyer with their company or whether the passenger has checked in early.
All of this will be gradually simplified with the arrival of Zamna's platform.
Zamna's data verification platform brings together multiple stakeholders, including airlines, governments, and security agencies, to verify passenger identities and data in a common and unique way. It does not require any new infrastructure at the airport, and none of these stakeholders have to share data, as the sharing of data is done internally by Zamna's blockchain platform.
With passenger numbers expected to double in the next 20 years, new technology-driven solutions are the only way airlines, airports and governments can respond," said Remus Brett, partner at LocalGlobe. We are excited to be working with the Zamna team and believe they can play a key role in addressing these challenges."