The NFC Forum and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), announced the publication of a document that will help the air travel industry better understand and evaluate the potential benefits, costs and use cases of NFC technology.
The document, entitled “NFC Reference Guide for Air Travel,” is the result of a partnership between the NFC Forum’s Air Transport Task Force and IATA’s Fast Travel Working Group who collaborated extensively to develop content for the document. IATA members offered their expertise regarding the requirements for NFC’s use in various aspects of air transit, while NFC Forum members provided insight tot he implementation options of the technology as well as practical information about existing applications.
“IATA’s Simplifying the Business program aims to set standards and drive innovation projects that enable a seamless passenger journey,” says Stephan Copart, IATA head, strategy, industry services transformation. “NFC holds substantial promise to provide a smoother and faster airport experience for travelers. The NFC Reference Guide for Air Travel will be a valuable guide to help stakeholders identify potential opportunities from adoption of NFC technology.”
The document contains a number of detailed graphical illustrations, tables and charts as well as numerous practical applications of NFC as they relate to the air traveler’s journey. A particular area of focus within the document is core use cases of NFC in air transit.
Potential use cases for NFC in air transit, according to the document, include the following:
- Secure provisioning, storage and reading of boarding passes on mobile devices
- The use of a mobile device to enable “tap-and-go” access to elite lounges
- Airlines and airports could provide, or cancel if need be, access to secured areas to staff via their mobile devices
- NFC tags could be coded and embedded in luggage tags to quickly access baggage information and better track bags’ progress
- Travelers could tap their NFC-enabled devices to enter a parking garage, pay at an exit or store parking details for later reference
- NFC payment applications could be used for purchases in airport shops as well as on board the aircraft