The International Air Transport Association (IATA) today announced a global standard that paves the way for worldwide mobile phone check-in using two-dimensional (2D) bar codes, bernama reported. The mobile check-in will enable airlines to send 2D codes directly to a passenger's mobile phone, personal digital assistant or smart phone, it said in a statement received here. The bar code becomes the passenger's boarding pass and will be read directly from the screen of the mobile device, eliminating paper completely from the check-in process. "Passengers want the convenience of self-service options in a paperless environment. This standard is an important step in getting rid of paper that bogs down processes and drives up costs," said IATA director general and chief executive officer Giovanni Bisignani. Passengers will have to register their mobile numbers with their airlines at the time of the booking to receive a text message with a 2D bar code or instructions to download it. Historically, airline global applications for mobile phone technology have been restricted due to different regional formats. The IATA standard uses three existing codes - Aztec and Damatrix which are used extensively in Europe, and QR which is widely used in Japan. All three are proven technologies and can be read by a single scanner type that is cost effective and readily availabe globally, IATA said. The industry has set a deadline of end-2010 to implement 100 percent bar coded boarding passes (BCBP) and upon full implementation, BCBP will save the industry over US$500 million annually. A 2D standard for paper bar coded boarding passes was established in 2005 and is the basis for web check-in. Both standards (mobile and paper based) can be issued and accepted by airlines worldwide.
