DPC looking into Ryanair’s customer verification process

The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has launched an investigation into Ryanair’s use of customers’ biometrics to see whether it’s on par with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The Irish data protection authority (DPA) says it has received a number of complaints from travelers about Ryanair’s additional ID verification method.

Passengers who booked plane tickets via third-party websites, were subjected to facial recognition before boarding the plane. Customers who bought their tickets directly on Ryanair’s website, didn’t have to go through this process.

“The DPC has received numerous complaints from Ryanair customers across the EU/EEA who after booking their flights were subsequently required to undergo a verification process. The verification methods used by Ryanair included the use of facial recognition technology using customers’ biometric data. This inquiry will consider whether Ryanair’s use of its verification methods complies with the GDPR,” Deputy Commissioner at the DPC Graham Doyle says about the investigation.

It's unclear when the inquiry will be finished.

Earlier this year Austrian privacy organization Noyb filed a complaint against Ryanair over the airline company’s invasive facial recognition practices.

“They already have your contact details to send you the link to the ‘verification’ process. A verification of contact details via biometrics also doesn’t make a lot of sense: your email address is not printed on your face or in your passport. Ryanair’s verification process looks like another attempt to make the lives of travelers and competitors more complicated to increase profits,” Noyb’s Program Director Romain Robert said in a statement.

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has argued that the use of biometric data at airports poses ‘an unacceptable high risk’ to people’s rights and freedoms. “It is important to be aware that biometric data are particularly sensitive and that their processing can create significant risks for individuals,” EDPB Chair Anu Talus explained.

Ryanair has stated that facial recognition is a necessary part of the verification process and it has a legitimate interest in doing so.