"We want to make airports fun again," proclaims John Wagner, deputy executive assistant commissioner of U.S Customs and Border Protection at the end of our interview time at GBTA Europe.
During that time I became completely swept up by the vision of what Wagner described as a 'tokenless' airport. The idea of walking through an airport that recognises your face instead of having to find a boarding pass and/or passport each time would be music to a lot of travellers' ears.
Wagner knows that innovation has to consider "kerb to gate and vice versa" efficiency for the majority of travellers but there is also the important element of identifying risky passengers.
Airports are starting to use biometrics to compare live images with passport photos. There is "no enrolment" other than the fact that by booking an airline ticket you are agreeing to show valid and correct travel documents and follow regular airport procedures. Airlines have already been telling airports who is booked on flights since 9/11.
"We're using technology to make a better decision…to segment travellers on risk and find who to focus on," Wagner explains. "Facial recognition means that processes don't need to be at one fixed spot so we're thinking about portable technology; it opens more opportunities which we are also discussing in Europe."
Wagner is under no illusion that he, and his respective government department, has all the answers. "We look at the airport as a whole and we aren't responsible for all of it but have a platform to take leverage of; we provide the backbone for the airlines and airports to deliver on service," he says.
So similarly to travel programmes, there is a focus on duty of care, segmenting travellers and how to build ecosystems that partners can plug into.
But facial recognition and this feeling of being watched even closer may feel like too much for some. When I shared what I'd heard with others at the conference I found some people were uncomfortable with this next step.
Businesses and governments want to pick up the pace on providing a digital experience but it inherently means handing over vast amounts of data. Currently loyalty programmes are able to customise the most due to the amount of information they hold about a traveller, but technology might change that.
Airports specifically are sensitive places but so is traveller data and identities. Travellers may be able to choose how and when they want to interact, but for the optimum experience, particularly frequent travellers, they need to be willing to get involved and share even more.