Pulkovo launches a biometric revolution
St. Petersburg’s main airport is set to enter an experimental legal regime for biometric passenger processing, turning Pulkovo into a living laboratory for digital transformation that could later be replicated across Russia’s entire aviation network.
The beginning of the end for paper documents
Pulkovo Airport expects to obtain an experimental legal framework for using biometrics in passenger procedures by spring 2026. System testing has already been completed with positive results, and the airport now faces an ambitious next step – moving from virtual pilots to real passenger flows.
The project centers on a system that allows travelers to check in and board aircraft using biometric data instead of traditional identity documents. Biometrics will be applied exclusively to domestic flights, where no state border is crossed, significantly simplifying the legal and regulatory framework. In October 2025, at the Digital Transportation forum, Russia’s Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Digital Development, the Center for Biometric Technologies and national carrier Aeroflot signed an agreement on introducing biometric identification in air travel. Pulkovo became the first airport in Russia where the service successfully passed testing.
The system relies on facial scanning or fingerprint recognition. Under the pilot model, a passenger registers at the airport, uploads a biometric profile into the system in advance, and then uses that profile at security checkpoints and boarding gates instead of presenting documents. The entire process takes only seconds, dramatically increasing airport throughput during peak hours.
For the first time in Russia, biometrics is being introduced not as a supplementary access-control tool but as the primary mechanism for passenger identification during boarding.
Scaling up and long-term prospects
Pulkovo’s ambitions extend far beyond a single regional hub. By the end of 2026, lawmakers are expected to adopt legislation enabling biometric identification across all Russian airports starting in 2027. This would allow passengers to use biometrics when departing from Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, Sochi, Yekaterinburg and other major hubs. The scale of this transformation spans hundreds of millions of passengers annually.
The industry’s core objective is to create a unified digital passport-and-identification process across Russia’s entire airport network by 2027–2028. In practice, this would mean that a traveler who registers biometric data at Pulkovo could use the same profile at any airport in the country without additional approvals. A single system enhances security, standardizes technical requirements and eliminates duplicated infrastructure.
The technological backbone of the project is the Unified Biometric System (UBS), a state platform whose development began in 2018 at the initiative of the Central Bank and the Ministry of Digital Development. UBS acts as a centralized repository and processing hub for citizens’ biometric data, ensuring protection and preventing unauthorized access.
From utopia to reality
The use of biometrics in aviation has a longer history than is often assumed. Dubai, one of the world’s largest air hubs, began actively deploying biometric identification early in the current decade. Singapore’s Changi Airport moved in 2024 to facial-biometric-only identity checks for arriving passengers. In Russia, the path has been more gradual. Over the past five years, the domestic aviation sector has steadily aligned itself with global digitalization trends. In 2024, Pulkovo launched a pilot project using the Migom service to register faces or palms for access to business lounges. This marked the first step toward full-scale biometric identification in the core passenger journey.
In parallel, the state digital infrastructure was evolving. Russia’s Unified Biometric System, created in 2018, gained a firm legal foundation with Federal Law No. 572-FZ of December 29, 2022, “On identification and authentication of individuals using biometric personal data.” In 2024, the Russian government adopted Resolution No. 408, clarifying which personal data qualifies as biometric – including facial images and voice recordings. This regulatory clarity enabled the systematic expansion of biometric use in both public and private services. Within this context, Pulkovo’s project represents a qualitative leap – moving from simply following international trends to building an integrated national system anchored in state infrastructure.
The 2026 milestone
If current timelines hold, by spring 2026 Pulkovo will receive legal approval for pilot operation of the system under real-world conditions with full passenger flows. By the end of that year, legislation should be in place to extend the technology across Russia’s entire aviation sector. Starting in 2027, biometric identification will be available to passengers at all Russian airports. The implications go far beyond shorter queues. What is at stake is a fundamental reconfiguration of the relationship between passengers and aviation infrastructure.
For airports, this opens opportunities to reduce staffing at check-in and control points, reallocating resources toward more skilled roles. For passengers, it means less stress and a smoother travel experience. For airlines, it enables faster aircraft turnaround times and more efficient scheduling.
Equally important is integration with other services. If the Unified Biometric System expands into additional public and private domains, travelers could use a single biometric profile for visa applications, border control, hotel check-ins and vehicle rentals. Successful deployment in aviation could set a precedent for extending biometrics into other transport sectors – rail, maritime and public transit. This would create a network effect: once citizens use biometrics at airports, they gain incentives to adopt it elsewhere, accelerating nationwide uptake.
From Russia, with technology
The biometric rollout at Pulkovo – and its planned expansion across Russia’s airport network – symbolizes more than incremental technological progress. It reflects a broader shift in how the state and citizens approach identification and convenience. Over the past decade, Russia has built expertise in transport digitalization, developed national biometric systems and established the regulatory foundations for innovation.
Pulkovo’s project shows that this effort has reached a tipping point, where technology moves from laboratories into the daily lives of millions. It may mark the moment when Russian aviation stops merely catching up with global standards and begins setting its own – grounded in state infrastructure, advanced technology and a nuanced understanding of passenger needs. If the project delivers on schedule and proves effective, it could pave the way not only for broader biometric adoption across the economy but also for exporting these technological solutions abroad.
