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Zamna Secures $5M Funding for Automating Airport Security Checks Using Blockchain

Blockchain startup Zamna has recently secured $5 million in funding led by VC firms Oxford Capital and LocalGlobe. Zamna specializes in securely sharing and verifying data between travel authorities and airlines in order to check passenger identities.

IAG (International Airlines Group) which happens to be Zamna’s existing investor is also its first commercial client. Verifying passenger data using blockchain technology is certainly a challenging task in itself. Zamna plans to leverage the power of blockchain to verify and connect passenger data sets that are currently silo-ed between security agencies, airlines, and government.

Zamna says that by using the blockchain tech will help to minimize the manual and other checks by 90%. Imagine that when more and more passenger identities are verified over the blockchain technology over time, the airport security process is likely to become absolutely seamless.

Furthermore, the blockchain will provide data security and passenger privacy without requiring repeated ID checks or any physical documentation. Attaining such an efficient process will be a big leap for Zamna. Speaking to TechCrunch, Zamna co-founder and CEO Irra Ariella Khi said:

“There is no easy and secure way for airlines and government agencies to share or cross-reference your data – which remains siloed (for valid data protection reasons). They must, therefore, repeat manual one-off data checks each time you travel”.

Applying the Blockchain Technology

As said earlier, connecting different platforms to verify passenger data is certainly a challenging task. To accomplish it, Zamna first attaches an anonymous token to verified data. All the involved parties i.e. government, airports, and airlines can access the immutable and secure distributed network of validated tokens.

Furthermore, Zamna’s technology will allow all these participants to validate passengers’ biometric and biographic data. The platform states:

“Our technology provides governments with a secure, trusted and privacy-centric way to identify passengers arriving at their borders, while helping ensure in advance of flying that each passenger has the right status to travel – and will not pose a threat to the countries they are intending to visit”.

Zamna also said that immigration authorities and airlines have started deploying its Advance Passenger Information (API) validation platform for biometric and biographic data. For robust check-in and transit-checks, Zamna is currently working with UAE’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners (GDRFA) and Emirates Airlines.

Zamna Secures $5M Funding for Automating Airport Security Checks Using Blockchain