2 days ago
JFK customs will look a little different on your next trip—here's what to know
If you're landing at JFK this summer and are able to breeze through customs like a VIP, don't thank your lucky stars—thank your face.
American Airlines and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have rolled out a new facial recognition system at JFK's Terminal 8, making it the latest major airport to join the Enhanced Passenger Processing (EPP) club. The system is designed to speed up reentry for U.S. citizens by verifying identities in seconds, not minutes, all without so much as pulling out your passport.
Here's how it works: A live image of your face is snapped and instantly matched to your passport photo stored in a government database. If it checks out, you're cleared for reentry before you even reach a CBP officer. The whole thing is contactless, pre-enrollment-free, and very sci-fi, but in a 'Jetsons meets JFK' kind of way.
Roughly 45-percent of travelers at Terminal 8 are U.S. citizens, QNS reports, and they're the only ones currently eligible for the biometric shortcut. While it's separate from Global Entry, EPP promises a similar time-saving benefit without the hassle of interviews or membership fees. American Airlines is the first (and so far, only) carrier at the airport to implement the system, but officials say it's part of a larger shift toward contactless travel.
'EPP has already had an impact on the overall customer journey,' Sylvia Rodriguez, managing director of JFK Operations for American Airlines, told the outlet. Translation: Shorter lines, faster exits and fewer sighs of airport despair.
But it's not all smooth flying. Privacy advocates, including the ACLU, have raised eyebrows about facial recognition at ports of entry—especially when deployed alongside agencies like ICE. CBP insists that photos of U.S. citizens are deleted within 12 hours and that the data won't be used beyond customs, but critics are calling for more transparency and guardrails.
Still, JFK now joins the ranks of other major hubs like LAX, ATL and ORD in betting big on biometrics. As air travel booms back post-pandemic, airport tech is racing to keep up and this touchless check-in may be just the beginning.
Opting out? You still can! Traditional passport lines remain open for those who prefer the analog experience. But for everyone else, it turns out the fastest way through JFK might just be a smile.
