Air Canada passengers can enroll through the airline’s mobile app to use one of four biometric facial-verification gates at Toronto Pearson International Airport, part of a pilot program launched in September 2026.
Enrollment Models for Domestic and US-Bound Passengers
The pilot features two enrollment methods. Domestic travelers opt in via Air Canada’s mobile app before reaching the gate, where a camera captures a live facial image and compares it with records in the airline’s identity gallery. A matching identity negates the need for final passport and boarding pass presentation.
Passengers traveling to the United States through Pearson’s transborder area use a separate process. Due to U.S. border
preclearance completed at the airport prior to departure, biometric data is captured earlier. Three biometric gates in this area compare live images during boarding against existing government-held records without requiring separate advance registration.
Technology Providers and System Integration
The physical biometric gates at Toronto Pearson are provided by Dormakaba. Middleware facilitating communication between the gates and identity systems is supplied by Airsphere and SITA. Air Canada contributes the domestic enrollment software and maintains the passenger identity gallery used in the verification process.
Voluntary Participation and Pilot Monitoring
Participation in the biometric pilot remains voluntary, with traditional document inspections still available to all travelers. Toronto Pearson is actively monitoring adoption rates,
passenger processing times, throughput, and customer satisfaction throughout the pilot.
Passenger Volumes and Airport Modernization
Toronto Pearson currently handles around 47 million passengers annually, expecting 65 million by the early 2030s. The pilot is part of the airport’s broader modernization program deploying digital identity and automated processing technologies to manage increased passenger volumes. The deployment builds on Air Canada’s earlier mobile-based traveler identity pilot linking smartphone enrollment with facial recognition. A separate Canadian deployment used selfie onboarding for biometric boarding at Calgary Airport. The pilot presently covers boarding only.
