Biometric based airport access control

An access control terminal for controlling access at an access point, the access point having an associated access point number, the terminal comprising:

• a reader for reading an encoded biometric characteristic, a PIN and a clearance number from an access card;
• a PIN input device for allowing input of a PIN by an individual presenting the access card;
• a biometric reader for making a contemporaneous biometric reading of the presenting individual;
• and
• a processor for granting or denying access by comparing the read encoded biometric reading with the presenting individual biometric reading, the read encoded PIN with the presenting individual PIN input and the read encoded clearance number with the associated access point number.

A method for controlling entry to commercial transportation vehicles comprising the steps of:

• taking a biometric reading of a passenger;
• generating a boarding pass having the passenger's biometric reading encoded thereon;
• taking a contemporaneous biometric reading of each passenger presenting a boarding pass;
• comparing the presented boarding pass encoded information to a contemporaneous input;
• and
• granting and denying access based on the comparison.

A boarding pass for use in boarding a commercial vehicle, the boarding pass comprising:

• commercial vehicle information including a time of departure for the commercial vehicle;
• and
• a biometric reading of a passenger allocated the boarding pass;
• whereby the biometric reading allows for a comparison of a contemporaneously made biometric reading of a potential passenger presenting the boarding pass and the biometric reading of the passenger allocated the boarding pass.