Delta Air Lines introduces paperless boarding pass at Salt Lake City International Airport

Delta Air Lines has introduced paperless boarding passes by which passengers can get an electronic boarding pass on their mobile cell phones or iPods if they are on a non-stop flight out of Salt Lake City International Airport in Utah, the United States.

The paperless boarding passes will also be good on the United States-based Northwest Airlines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, and also on the flights of Delta Connection. 

Delta Air Lines, based in Atlanta, Georgia, the United States, and the biggest airline operator in the world, already offers the paperless boarding pass service at 6 airports – but only for Northwest Airlines’ flights out of Indianapolis and Delta’s flights out of LaGuardia Airport in New York. 

In a statement, Delta Air Lines said it would introduce paperless boarding passes within few days at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Kentucky in the United Sates.

Josh Weiss, Delta Air Lines’ managing director of delta.com and self-service, explained in the statement: “The carrier’s time-saving technology puts customers in control of their experience and provides them with valuable convenience. Now, the check-in process can take place from anywhere, any time within 24 hours of flight departure – while on way to the airport, in a taxi, or while walking from the parking lot to the terminal.” 

According to an official of the United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the system of electronic boarding pass also has benefits from the point of view of aviation security by “keeping the flying public safe.” 

The media quoted Brett Rydalch, Delta’s customer service field director at Salt Lake City, as saying that the new technology “heightens the ability to detect fraudulent boarding passes even while improving customer service and reducing use of paper.”

According to Delta Air Lines, the electronic boarding pass programme works like this:

Customers who check in for a non-stop flight in Salt Lake City may download their boarding passes into Web-enabled mobile device via delta.com or nwa.com
Then, if there are no bags to be checked, go directly to the airport security screening area. If there are bags, the bags must be left at the baggage drop location.
At the security checkpoint, an agent of the Transportation Security Administration will scan the electric boarding pass as shown on the mobile device’s screen and check the customer’s identification.
After going through security, the customer goes to the departure gate, presents the electronic boarding pass to the gate agent, and boards the aircraft.