Passengers’ perceptions on the use of biometrics at airports: A statistical model of the extended theory of planned behavior

This study reviewed the factors which influence passengers' behavioral intentions on using biometrics at airports. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) served as the theoretical foundation and included perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The study also examined the effect of passengers' privacy concerns on their behavioral intentions and assessed the moderating influence of privacy on the influencing factors. Following a quantitative method, 689 participants responded to an online survey while data analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM). Attitudes and subjective norms were found to significantly influence passengers’ behavioral intentions to use biometrics. However, perceived behavioral control (PBC), as well as perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use did not have a significant effect on intentions. Four of the six hypotheses involving privacy concerns were supported. Of the five hypotheses proposed to assess the moderating role of privacy, three were supported. However, since the effect sizes were small, the final model did not include the moderation effects. The final model was found to account for 80.2% of the variance in intentions and 35.2% of the variance in privacy concerns. The findings provide useful theoretical contributions and practical applications to support the adoption of biometric systems at airports, while recommendations for further study are presented. •Examined passenger's predictive factors of using biometrics at airports.•A total of 689 participants were recruited from the United States.•Structural equation modeling with moderation analyses were completed.•Concerns regarding privacy was assessed as a possible moderator.•The final model explained 80.2% of the variance in intentions.