Irish privacy regulator probes Ryanair’s use of facial recognition

DUBLIN – Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) opened an EU-wide probe on Friday into whether Ryanair’s use of facial recognition technology to verify the identity of customers booking through some third-party websites violates the bloc’s privacy laws.

The regulator said it had received several complaints from Ryanair (RYA.I),  customers across the European Union over the airline’s practice of requesting additional verification when they booked travel tickets from third-party sites or online travel agents (OTAs), as opposed to directly with Ryanair.

The Irish carrier, Europe’s largest by passenger numbers, welcomed the inquiry into a process it said was designed to protect customers from OTAs not affiliated with the airline that might provide incorrect customer contact and payment details.

Ryanair says on its website that additional verification is required for these customers to comply with safety and security requirements.

Passengers can avoid verifying through facial recognition by showing up at the airport at least two hours before departure or submitting a form and picture of their passport or national ID card in advance, a process Ryanair said can take seven days to complete.

A similar process is not required when booking on Ryanair’s website or mobile phone app, or through an OTA that has signed a commercial agreement with Ryanair that guarantees tickets are booked directly with the airline.

Ryanair has signed 14 such agreements since the start of the year.

Ryanair said in the statement that its biometric and non-biometric processes were both fully compliant with all the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).