Nearly eight in 10 Australians support the use of biometric-based security measures to verify the identity of passengers boarding aircraft at airports. However, they do not support airport retailers using biometrics to make customised sales offers, according to the 2014 Unisys Security Index.

The Unisys Security Index is an annual global study that provides insights into the attitudes of consumers on a wide range of issues related to national, personal, financial, and Internet security.

The study, conducted in Australia by Newspoll, surveyed 1,201 adults between 14 and 19 March 2014. The survey found 75 percent of Australians said they are willing to provide biometric information such as a fingerprint or photograph so that an automated boarding gate can confirm their identities when they board a flight.

“We have seen longstanding support for biometrics in immigration and customs processing, but these new findings show that there is a willingness to extend this level of identity verification throughout the passenger’s airport journey to confirm that only approved passengers are boarding flights,” said Mr John Kendall, security program director, Unisys Asia Pacific.

The survey also found 71 percent of Australians said that they would be willing to provide personal biometric data to prove their identities as frequent travelers of low security risk.

However, only 33 percent of Australians surveyed said they were willing to provide biometric information in order to access customised retail offers in the airport. And 63 percent said they were not willing to do so.