American Airlines is implementing mobile ID verification at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), with plans to possibly roll the program out more widely in the future. The move inches toward a total touchless experience for airline passengers.

American Airlines' passengers at DFW have the option to test the new mobile ID technology, which verifies customers’ identities using their mobile device when they drop their bag with an agent, instead of passengers having to hand a physical form of ID to the agent accepting their checked bags. The technology will be available at Regan Washington National Airport (DCA) from October 27th. 

The airline says those who choose to participate in the trial will no longer need to hand in a form of ID. Instead, they can enroll in a third-party app prior to check-in that will create a digital ID token on their mobile device which can be used to verify their identity at the bag drop. The airline is working with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to explore this mobile ID verification technology which it says could ultimately reduce physical contact during the travel experience if adopted more broadly in the future.