VINCI Airports launches Mona, the first travel assistant that uses facial recognition technology, at Lyon‑Saint Exupéry airport

On 5 October 2020 at the VINCI Airports Centre of Excellence for Innovation based at Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport, Xavier Huillard, Chairman and CEO of VINCI, and Nicolas Notebaert, CEO of VINCI Concessions and President of VINCI Airports, inaugurated Mona, the new travel assistant that will revolutionise the passenger experience. In launching Mona, not only does VINCI Airports take a major step towards the mobility of the future, it also becomes the first airport operator in the world to offer its passengers the opportunity to trial a biometric journey from their home to the plane.

Mona allows travellers to set up a customer account by downloading an app to their smartphone in the comfort of their own home or at a terminal in the airport in order to take advantage of this new service, completely free of charge. Thanks to facial recognition technology and a special journey through the airport, Mona users can go through the various check points in the airport – from luggage drop off to boarding (with the exception of border control) – without making any physical contact, simply by showing their face.

In addition to providing information about flights and the passenger journey in real time, Mona is also able to offer users a number of personalised services and experiences, developed in partnership with airlines and retailers in the airport.

Mona is built around a system that uses biometric data and relationship marketing. Subject to approval from the French data protection agency, the CNIL, this new service implements the latest recommendations made by the agency in order to offer passengers the firmest possible assurances that their rights and privacy will be protected. Furthermore, Mona was developed in close collaboration with the French Civil Aviation Authority as part of its “Vision sûreté 2” programme, which aims to stimulate innovation to strengthen security and boost competition between operators.

Launched today for a one-year trial period, Mona is available to passengers travelling through Lyon‑ Saint Exupéry airport using Transavia (on flights to Porto) and TAP Air Portugal (on flights to Lisbon), two airlines keen to be involved in the project.

Nicolas Notebaert said, “With Mona, VINCI Airports is launching a world first that adds a new dimension to the airport experience. At a time when contactless technology is proving increasingly important and personalisation is becoming the norm, our network once again proves it is able to continuously reinvent itself.”