Beijing airport pilots provisional eIDs

This photo taken on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 shows the app that passengers can use to apply for provisional electronic identification. [Photo/China Plus]

The Beijing Capital International Airport has started to pilot provisional electronic identification for passengers, reports the Beijing News.

Instead of applying for a paper provisional identification document, passengers of Chinese nationality who take domestic flights from Terminal 1 of the airport can apply for provisional eIDs through a mobile app, if they have lost or forgotten to take their ID cards. The policy took effect on May 21.

It is also possible to apply for an eID through self-service machines at the airport.

A passenger needs to enter his/her name, ID number and flight information, before undergoing a facial recognition process.

The information then goes for verification. The verification process takes less than two minutes.