The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) will roll out the V-Pass facial recognition system to make domestic air travel faster, safer and more seamless across Nigerian airports.
FAAN developed V-Pass with M/S Verxid Technologies Limited to verify passengers through facial recognition.
The system will reduce the need for physical identity documents at airports and speed up passenger processing.
FAAN and Verxid reviewed the rollout during a strategic meeting. They discussed deployment plans, security measures and ways to improve the passenger experience.
FAAN Director of Commercial and Business Development, Ms Adebola, said the project reflects the agency’s commitment to using technology to improve passenger movement and strengthen aviation security.
She said V-Pass will give travellers a secure digital identity after a one-time enrolment.
Nigerian passengers will register with their National Identification Number (NIN) and facial biometric capture. Foreign passengers will enrol with their international passports through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and biometric authentication.
The system will verify passengers before they enter restricted airport areas and again before boarding.
FAAN said the two-step process will stop impersonation, unauthorised access and identity fraud while improving passenger authentication for security agencies.
Passengers can use self-service kiosks during the rollout or get help from FAAN officials. E-Gates will also control access to restricted areas, reduce queues and improve passenger flow.
The developers said biometric checks will take less than 30 seconds after enrolment, while first-time registration will take about one minute.
Airlines will also access flight schedules, passenger manifests and boarding statistics through a secure digital platform.
FAAN will use a Central Management System to monitor passenger movement, generate analytics and support future integration with other airport systems.
FAAN and Verxid stressed that data privacy remains central to the project.
Furthermore, the system complies with the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR).
Passenger data will not remain on kiosks or handheld devices after verification.
FAAN and Verxid will launch a nationwide awareness campaign before deployment.
The campaign will run on television, radio, social media, airport announcements and airline advisories.
They will also conduct a live Proof of Concept demonstration and technical site assessment before the full rollout.
In response, the Director of Commercial and Business Development said V-Pass forms part of FAAN’s broader digital transformation agenda.
She said the agency will combine biometric technology with modern access control to build a smarter, safer and more efficient airport system for domestic travellers.
External Links
Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria: https://faan.gov.ng
National Identity Management Commission: https://nimc.gov.ng
Nigeria Data Protection Commission: https://ndpc.gov.ng
