Blockchain, for an enhanced passenger experience at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Abstract

This project is a graduation project for the master programme Strategic Product Design in collaboration with Schiphol Group. The goal of the project was to find out how blockchain technology can help Schiphol Group to enhance the passenger experience. Blockchain is seen as a technology that will disrupt many industries. But why is this? The core value of blockchain is trust. The blockchain is a decentralised database which enables people and organisations to do transactions without having to trust each other. People are enabled to transact for example money without involving a bank. Because of this, blockchain will change the way we transact value on a global scale. Therefore it is important to explore what this new technology can do for companies. In this thesis the possibilities for Schiphol Group are explored.
Schiphol Group has the ambition to become Europe’s prefered airport. Next to this, they have the ambition to become the world’s leading digital airport by 2018. To achieve this the airport has to continuously innovate. Schiphol Group does this by expanding the airport with the Capital Programme and by making the current airport smarter with the Digital Airport Programme. Both programmes aim to create an excellent seamless passenger process with a minimum of stressful moments.
At the moment passengers experience dissatisfaction in some parts of their journey. This moments are often the moments with the lowest control. These include the waiting times at check in, security and passport control. To decrease waiting times, Schiphol works on a project called Seamless Flow, that enables passengers to pass checks with biometric identification. But, implementing biometric identification brings along some challenges. Enrollment still takes quite some time. It is hard to proof the removal of personal data. Scanning a person’s passport presents challenges because of privacy legislation. Last, due to the central character of the database it takes more effort to protect the data. To enhance passengers control over their journey and to solve the challenges biometric identification brings, the concept of a self sovereign identity is proposed. A self sovereign identity is a system working with blockchain technology in which the user has consent and control over who he shares his data with. In a self sovereign identity system, identity providers provide the user of an attestation, a proof of correctness, for example that it is indeed the persons passport. The identity provider can be governement for example who gives out your passport. From the same attestation a hash, a number that represents the attestation, is written onto the blockchain. The relying party, an organisation like for example an airline who wants a confirmation of the passengers identity, can than compare what is presented by the user with what is on the blockchain.
When it’s a match, your identity is confirmed.
In the ideal situation Schiphol does not have a role in the self sovereign identity system. Until government enables such a system, Schiphol has the opportunity to
act as a identity provider. They can create attestations with the enrollment kiosks that are going to be used for biometric identification in the upcoming years.
To enable Schiphol to act as an identity provider, the TravelWallet service is created. The TravelWallet is an application for passengers that enables them to store their data safely, all in one place. You control who you show your data to at the airport. The app stores your data on your phone in a way only you are able to open it with your fingerprints. This way you never have to take out your passport or boarding card at the airport after you are enrolled. After you verified your account at the airport, you will receive a push notification with a request to share your data, for example from the airline you are flying with. When approving the request, the airline is only able to see the information and not able to share it. If your identity is verified, you receive a confirmation. With the confirmation you can pass the gates towards security.
The TravelWallet service has a lot of benefits for all the different stakeholders involved. The passenger will experience more control in their journey. They do not have to hassle with physical documents and they will have a faster and smoother journey. Schiphol will reduce the risk of cyberattacks and legal complications. Airlines can save time by replacing their time consuming identity verification methods. Implementing the TravelWallet will be expensive, but it can change the whole passenger journey and thereby save a lot of money. With the TravelWallet there is no need for a check-in desk (assuming that everyone uses
the self service bag drop), physical border control or employees for the boarding process. By digitizing these processes, money, time and space can be saved.