Verify Before They Fly: Solving the Air Travel Document Challenge

Air travel is experiencing unprecedented growth. IATA forecasts 9.8 billion passengers by 2025 and this growth brings compounding complexity that's testing traditional airline operations, particularly around travel document verification. The stakes are high:

• Passengers don’t always understand documentation requirements for different routes/destinations
• Airlines face fines for transporting ineligible passengers, providing inaccurate or incomplete passenger information - they must check they have the right documents
• Inefficient check-in processes result in longer queues at airports, requiring expensive staff and resources
• Staff absorb frustrated travelers' anger when errors or omissions happen
• Last-minute issues cascade through operations

This guide shows how to tackle the travel document challenge today with a smart data capture solution - and how to future-proof your operations for what’s coming next.

For large airlines operating many global routes, the travel document challenge is acute:

• What’s changing: More programs (EES, ETAs), frequently shifting entry rules across countries, and higher enforcement raise both complexity and penalties.
• Where it breaks: Manual checks at check-in/boarding are error-prone and add friction, more varied document types with inconsistent data formats (e-visas, unstructured documents like visa invitation letters), while passengers face lines and stress.
• Risk and cost: Carriers remain liable for incorrect API, inadmissible travelers (fines, repatriation), plus disruption costs, and NPS damage.
• Solutions that scale: Millions of passengers across multiple touchpoints and channels require consistent, automated compliance flows end-to-end.

Airlines must prioritize early and accurate document capture to ensure they have the necessary documents for that passenger - and ultimately to prevent day-of-travel failures, fines, verification tasks for ground staff, and poor passenger experiences.

Scandit ID Bolt enables airlines to shift document capture (i.e. verifying they have the correct documentation for their journey) from a passenger challenge at online check-in or bottleneck at boarding to a seamless, no fuss digital interaction that happens before passengers travel.

ID Bolt provides passengers with fast, foolproof, and secure passport and travel document scanning via airline websites to improve UX and boost compliance.

See how it works:

It’s a pre-built, fully compliant solution that is easy to integrate and embeds comprehensive document capture directly into booking, online check-in, and pre-travel touchpoints - enabling airlines to prompt passengers to scan the necessary documents.

Users can scan via built-in device cameras or with a device handover feature laptop users can activate their smartphones temporarily as ID scanners to improve ergonomics.

ID Bolt can scan the wide range of travel documents European airlines actually encounter:

• ICAO-compliant visa stickers: Automatically detected even when partially obscured or on reflective passport pages.
• Non-ICAO visa formats: Visa stickers that vary by issuing country and don't conform to standards.
• Unstructured travel documents: E-visa confirmations, invitation letters, vaccination certificates and other documents without standardized formats.

Airlines deploy ID Bolt at two strategic touchpoints:

At booking or reservation

When passengers book international itineraries, prompt them to scan required documents - passport, visa, additional authorizations - directly in the booking flow. ID Bolt validates if it's the correct document type and eligibility immediately, flagging issues while passengers have time to resolve them.

During pre-travel preparation

ID Bolt is used when sending passengers proactive reminders in advance of travel, especially during online check-in. Passengers scan documents through the mobile app or website powered by ID Bolt, catching gaps before airport arrival.

Real-world example

In this clip from a recent webinar hosted by Scandit, Laurens Jansma from Air France-KLM explains their document scanning deployment journey and how they set out to address the issue of ineligible passengers at boarding gates, which caused delays and penalties:

Making "verify before they fly" work at scale requires technology that meets non-negotiable criteria. ID Bolt is purpose-built for this, including recent updates to add additional capabilities based on feedback from leading airlines.

Fast and accurate so passengers actually use it

Slow or error-prone scanning means passengers abandon the process. ID Bolt eliminates that friction.

“We needed a solution that is convenient, fast, and reliable to scan ID cards and passports to avoid manual input errors. The Scandit technology is so fast you click and it's already scanned.”

Fabien Mollinari, Senior Product Manager, Aer Lingus

Broad document support matching real-world complexity

Standard passport scanning is table stakes. ID Bolt handles ICAO-compliant visas, visa stickers, residence cards, e-visa confirmations, invitation letters, and vaccination certificates - the full spectrum passengers actually carry.

Works across all passenger devices and smartphones

ID Bolt delivers consistent accuracy across any camera-based device including 20,000+ smartphone device models, so it’s always a seamless scanning experience.

Seamless integration within your branded environment

Passengers need to trust they're interacting with your airline when submitting sensitive documents. ID Bolt's white-labeling capabilities and UI/UX customizations - update colors, fonts, logos, illustrations, buttons - create a native experience with no coding required. This makes it easier for airlines to match the design of ID Bolt scanning component to their brand for a consistent and trusted user experience online.

• Passengers perceive the experience as native to the airline, not a third-party handoff
• Drop-off rates during document uploads decrease
• Airlines can A/B test messaging and design for different routes and passenger segments
• Brand trust is reinforced when passengers need reassurance most

ID Bolt is a technology component that integrates into your existing booking and check-in processes via your website - not a platform requiring wholesale system replacement. You maintain control over passenger experience, data flows, and architecture.

For airlines with legacy IT environments, this matters. ID Bolt is a low-code solution with pre-built workflows that embeds into existing web and mobile applications, enabling faster deployment without disruption.

Data ownership and compliance

Under GDPR, airlines are data controllers with strict obligations. ID Bolt's architecture ensures captured data flows directly to your systems - Scandit never collects personally identifiable information. You control the entire data journey, simplifying GDPR compliance and aligning with CCPA and other privacy regulations.

• Scandit doesn't collect PII - data flows directly to your systems
• ISO 27001 certified provider
• Compliant with GDPR, CCPA, and sector-specific regulations
• Handles ETIAS, ETA, ESTA, and future authorization systems

When passengers complete document verification at home using ID Bolt, operational benefits compound:

Check-in completion rates improve: Passengers encountering document issues resolve them before traveling, reducing denied boarding and associated costs.

Airport agent workload decreases: Gate agents and check-in staff focus on exceptions, not routine checks. In an environment of 31% labor costs and persistent shortages, this efficiency is material.

Call center volume reduces: Clear, guided document capture means fewer confused passengers calling about requirements.

Regulatory penalties decline: Proactive verification catches ineligible passengers before boarding, avoiding fines for transporting passengers without proper authorization.

The challenge airlines face - verifying diverse travel documents while delivering seamless experiences and managing labor constraints - isn't disappearing. It's intensifying as passenger volumes grow and regulatory requirements expand. 

The airlines that will thrive are those that shift document verification from an airport friction point to a seamless digital interaction before passengers travel. Scandit ID Bolt makes this possible with technology that:

• Works across all passenger devices
• Handles the full spectrum of travel documents, not just passports
• Integrates into existing airline architecture without platform lock-in
• Maintains airline brand control and passenger trust
• Delivers enterprise-scale reliability and compliance
• Evolves with emerging digital identity standards