Global Entry members arriving on international flights at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) no longer stop at a kiosk to answer customs questions. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says cameras with biometric facial comparison now verify a member's identity and membership status as he or she walks into the Global Entry processing area1. PHL went live on 13 October and is the first airport in the United States to use the new process, which The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on 11 November12.

What changes at the arrivals hall

Until now a Global Entry member walked up to a user-operated kiosk and answered the customs declaration questions there1. In the newer Touchless Portal version the traveler still stopped in front of a screen, lined up the face with a silhouette and removed glasses, hats and face coverings, and was sometimes asked to scan a travel document3. The PHL process takes out that stop. CBP describes it as verifying the member "without that member having to stop"1.

CBP gives four aims: stronger identity verification, smoother traveler flow, more efficient processing and support for its enforcement and security mission1. Elliot N. Ortiz, CBP's area port director in Philadelphia, said the process reflects CBP's efforts "to process travelers more efficiently, enhance the international arrivals experience, and strengthen our nation's security"1. Members can still use the Trusted Traveler mobile app, at participating locations, to report their arrival and submit a customs declaration1. CBP did not publish wait time figures for the new process.

The step had been in testing. In June a CBP spokesperson told The Points Guy that members at six airports, Philadelphia among them, could "walk through a designated capture zone without stopping at a device" before a short conversation with an officer4. The other trial airports were San Francisco, Boston, Dallas Fort Worth, New York JFK and Seattle4.

How far and how fast

CBP expects to bring the process to as many as 38 terminals at 30 high-volume airports, including some of its Preclearance locations abroad1. It has not named those airports or given a date for completion1. Global Entry had 15.6 million active members on 1 October 20261.

Philadelphia already used facial comparison for other arrivals. In January CBP introduced Enhanced Passenger Processing there, in which officers operate auto-capture cameras that photograph arriving U.S. citizens and match the image against photos CBP already holds, such as passport photos5. PHL was the 15th airport with that system, and CBP said it cut waiting times for returning U.S. citizens by 25 percent5. The airport has room for six of those stations, which CBP opens according to passenger load6.

Where crew fit in

The CBP announcement is about Global Entry members and does not mention airline crew1. Global Entry is a passenger program, but crew can hold it as individuals. American Airlines announced in 2015 that it would provide Global Entry membership to its pilots and crew as a benefit8, and a 2012 CBP description of Global Entry at the Preclearance airports in Ireland referred to "the passenger (or crewmember)" using the kiosk9. CBP has not said whether crew who are members can use the new camera lane while working a flight, so the existing crew procedures at each port remain the reference.

The crew programs most U.S. pilots know concern a different moment in the trip. Known Crewmember gives pilots and flight attendants access through the TSA security checkpoint on departure, not through CBP on arrival. TSA is replacing it with the Crewmember Access Point program, which uses biometric matching with digital photographs and will be run by TSA itself by the end of 202610. Participating operators will pay a fee of 19 dollars per crewmember per year from 1 January 202710.

For foreign crew the wider rule matters more. Since 26 December 2025, DHS may require every non-U.S. citizen to be photographed on entry and on exit, and earlier exemptions such as those for people under 14 or over 79 no longer apply to photographs7. The final rule does not set up a separate route for airline crew. The crew processes it describes are at sea ports, where most cruise ship crew already go through facial comparison7. Facilitation at the border, ICAO Annex 9, is part of the ATPL Air Law syllabus.

What CBP says about photos and opting out

The rule sets out how the photos are handled7:

• Participation by U.S. citizens in biometric verification is voluntary. A citizen can tell a CBP officer, or an airline or vessel agent, that he or she wants to opt out, and the travel document is then checked manually.
• New photos of U.S. citizens are discarded within 12 hours of verifying identity and citizenship, in line with a records schedule approved by the National Archives.
• That does not apply to everyone. Photos of non-citizens who must provide biometrics, and of U.S. citizens who take part in Global Entry, are transferred to the DHS biometric database IDENT, where DHS keeps certain records for up to 75 years.
• Facial images of non-immigrant visitors and lawful permanent residents are also held for up to 14 days in a CBP targeting system for identity checks, accuracy testing and audits.
• Biographic travel records are kept for 15 years for U.S. citizens and permanent residents and 75 years for non-immigrant visitors.

For the separate Enhanced Passenger Processing lanes at PHL, both the airport and CBP say travelers who do not want to use the cameras can tell an officer and go through the standard inspection56. The Global Entry announcement itself does not describe an alternative for members who do not want to be photographed1.

For other U.S. security stories with a crew angle, see what Frontier 4345 at Denver shows about perimeter security. More on the airline behind the 2015 crew Global Entry offer is on our American Airlines page.