Greek travellers flying domestic on Aegean Airlines can now use their mobile IDs for boarding, thanks to the airline’s new digital identity application.
Developed in collaboration with the country’s Digital Governance Ministry, the digital traveler ID solution builds on a mobile identity system launched by the Greek government last summer. The “Gov.gr Wallet” enables an end user to create and store a virtual version of their driver’s license or official identity card on their mobile device.
Now, interested Aegean Airlines passengers can load their Gov.gr Wallet credentials onto the Aegean ‘Digital ID’ app, enabling them to pair their identification with a digital boarding pass.
Speaking at the system’s launch event at Athens International Airport, Greek e-Governance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis framed the digitally innovative initiative as a matter of national pride.
“Today is a special day, not just because we are inaugurating a new digital service, but because the Greek state has provided the inspiration to create this service, and this makes us proud,” he said. “Greece has outstanding human resources, both in the public and private sectors, of high-caliber training, and very creative resources.”
Pierrakakis has spearheaded Greece’s digital ID efforts, having promised last year that the country would see a mobile ID solution launched by the end of July after an earlier Easter deadline was missed, and successfully delivered. By August, select Greeks were able to start signing up for the digital ID through an online portal, using SMS One-Time Passcodes to verify their identities during onboarding, and then QR codes through the mobile ID app for authentication transactions.
As with the Gov.gr Wallet, QR code technology plays a key role in the Aegean Airlines app’s identity verification process. Once the passenger uploads their digital ID onto the Aegean app, they’ll receive a six-digit code via their mobile ID that must then be entered on the Aegean app to confirm their identity. At the airport boarding gate, staff need only to scan a QR code on the user’s Aegean app to confirm their identity and their ticket.
The app is available on iOS, Android, and Huawei devices, and can also be used on Olympic Air flights. Going forward, Aegean Airlines is aiming to extend its functionality to flights within the European Union.
Source: The National Herald
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