Delta claims 30-second bag drop as face ID spreads to some 40 airports
Eligible Delta passengers can drop bags and clear security by showing their face. The speed figure is the airline's own.
Deployed
The system went live in 2021 at ATL and DTW under the name Delta Digital ID, and now runs as TSA PreCheck Touchless ID.
Delta's media kit (4 March 2026) lists bag drop and security at seven hubs, including ATL, JFK and LAX, with security-only lanes at more than 30 other airports. The programme now spans several US airlines: by NerdWallet's count it covered 65 airports as of June 2026.
What the system does
How it works. Passengers opt in through the Fly Delta app. At bag drop or the checkpoint, a camera takes their photo. Delta sends the encrypted image, without name or other personal details, to US Customs and Border Protection, which compares it with its own gallery of traveller photos. A match replaces showing an ID and boarding pass.
Privacy. Delta's media kit states that the airline does not store or save customers' biometric data.
Who can use it. TSA PreCheck members in Delta's SkyMiles programme, with passport details and a Known Traveler Number saved in their profile.
The reported gain. In October 2024 Delta said Touchless ID bag drop is about 75% faster than standard, averaging 30 seconds against two minutes, and that its passengers move through security about 60% faster than standard PreCheck. It has not said how those figures were measured.
What we don't know. Independent timing data, how many passengers have opted in, and what the face matching gets wrong.
Live data from the Aerostack register. Status reflects published evidence only. See Our approach for how records are graded.