Scan your passport on AA app

American Airlines’ smartphone app now can scan the passports of international travelers when it is used for check-in, meaning travelers no longer have to show their passports to the airline’s customer service agent at the airport. This will be advantageous to those who are not checking any luggage and those who are catching a connecting international flight after a domestic flight.

To utilize this feature, the phone must have a near-field communications (NFC) chip. (Most smartphones produced in the last 10 years have this chip.) For a passport to be scanned with the app, the top-back of the phone is simply placed against the chip symbol on the cover of the passport, and the information is then transferred.

A passport still must be presented at the boarding gate.