Using your cell phone as airline boarding pass?

Posted by stephen on February 6, 2008

A three-month experimental program at Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport has begun to test a technology using encrypted bar codes on mobile device screens. Instead of a paper boarding pass, Continental Airlines and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will let passengers leaving Houston to show a code the airline has sent to their cell phone or PDA.

The two-dimensional bar stores the passenger’s name and flight information and will be screened at the airport by the TSA administration with a handheld scanner. The new check-in procedure could eliminate the need for a paper document (besides photo ID) and prevent from people trying to use fraudulent paper boarding passes. Initially, the pilot program will be used solely on Continental flights at Houston Intercontinental. However, if successful, the paperless technology will expand nationwide.