Travelers upload a photo of their passport data page after booking. OCR reads the name, number, nationality and expiry, checks the name against the booking and the six-month validity rule, fills the group manifest and sends any problem to operations before ticketing.
Typical results
≈3.5 hrs
Saved per departure on typing the manifest
6 months
Validity checked past the return date
Under 1 min
From upload to a checked manifest row
Figures reflect typical results for this kind of automation.
The challenge
Passport details arrive as phone photos and scans by email, and someone types each one into the group manifest. A missing middle name or a swapped letter is often found only after tickets are issued, when airlines charge to correct or reissue them. Passports close to expiry surface days before departure, leaving little time to renew.
Before and after
Name corrections after ticketing per 100 travelers
−80%Hours per departure typing the group manifest
−88%Days' notice when a passport is too close to expiry
8.6×The automation
Once a group booking is confirmed, each traveler gets a link to upload a photo of their passport's data page. OCR reads the name, passport number, nationality and expiry date, checks the name against the spelling on the booking and confirms the passport is valid at least six months past the return date. Passing details are written to the group manifest. Name mismatches, blurry photos and short validity become tasks for the operations desk, and tickets wait until they clear.
How it works
- 01
Upload link after confirmation
When a group booking is confirmed, each traveler gets a secure link to upload a photo of their passport's data page.
- 02
OCR reads the data page
OCR reads the name, passport number, nationality and expiry date, including the machine-readable lines at the bottom of the page.
- 03
Checked against the booking
The name is compared letter by letter with the booking, and the expiry date must fall at least six months after the return date.
- 04
Manifest row written
Passports that pass are written to the group manifest with their details and marked ready for ticketing.
- 05
Problems become tasks
Name mismatches, blurry photos and short validity open a task for the operations desk, and that traveler's ticket stays on hold.
Starts from
- Passport data page photo
- Group booking names
Delivers
- Checked group manifest
- Six-month validity check
- Task for operations desk
The impact
Ticket name corrections fall by about 80%, from roughly 5 to 1 per 100 travelers, which avoids most airline change fees. The operations desk saves around 3.5 hours per departure on typing the manifest, and short-validity passports are caught about two months ahead, when there is still time to renew.
Questions about this automation
How accurate is the OCR on phone photos?
Passport data pages have a standard layout and machine-readable lines, so clear photos read reliably. The automation compares the printed fields with the machine-readable lines, and if they disagree or the photo is blurry, the traveler is asked to retake it and the desk sees the case as a task instead of a guessed value.
How are passport images kept secure?
Images are uploaded through a private link, stored in a restricted folder that only the operations desk can open and deleted on a set schedule after the trip ends. The manifest holds only the fields the airline and hotels need, and access to it is limited to the staff handling the departure.
What is needed to roll this out?
The booking system or sheet that holds traveler names and return dates, the manifest format the operations desk uses and a storage location for the images. This is a multi-step build, usually rolled out in stages, starting with one departure where the desk reviews every result before tickets are issued.