( CNN ) -- What if you found yourself stuck alone at a faraway airport -- with no money , credit cards or ID ? How easily could you fly back home again ? You might survive if you had a smartphone . Emerging `` empty pockets '' technology is increasingly allowing travelers to use their phones to make purchases , book flights , check in and board planes . Wallets ? They 're so 2008 . Delta , American and United are already big into electronic boarding passes on smartphones , and stragglers like JetBlue are planning e-boarding programs in the near future . What 's next ? If some visionaries have their way , the future of mobile travel will touch virtually every key activity at the airport -- including security and U.S. passports . Smartphone technology might improve airport efficiency and help ease the pain from skyrocketing traffic predicted in the next 20 years . But is a post-9/11 world comfortable with the idea of merging personal cell phones into the airport security network ? Apple -- still basking in the afterglow of last week 's iPhone 5 curtain raiser -- is also unveiling Passbook , an app which organizes e-boarding passes , flight reservations , coupons and other documents . But Apple has a much more grandiose plan for its empty pocket dreams , according to public U.S. Patent and Trademark Office documents . Read the patent document ( PDF ) . For example , imagine checking bags with your cell phone -- or passing through security by flashing an official driver 's license or U.S. passport displayed on your phone . Outside the airport , envision using just your phone to rent a car or to check into a hotel . How about using your phone as an electronic hotel room key ? But let 's get real , say industry experts and government officials . As cool as all these ideas sound , extending Apple 's technology and influence to airport baggage tracking and TSA security would be unprecedented . `` I 'm always kind of staggered by the scale and complexity and the ambition that they have , '' says mobile phone industry analyst Nick Holland of Yankee Group . As you might expect from the secretive folks at Apple , they would n't talk to CNN about the patent documents . But we did grab some time with `` Apple Insider '' reporter Neil Hughes , who covers nothing but Apple , including its patents for future products . `` Security may be the biggest issue , '' says Hughes . Carrying all your personal ID and travel documents on a single device would be very tempting for skilled password hacks , says Hughes . Related story : Your smartphone will eventually be hacked . The concept . The 2008 patent application was approved in July and filed under the working title `` iTravel . '' Hughes suspects the iTravel concept will be folded into Apple 's Passbook app , which will be available for download on Wednesday . Right now , Passbook will store electronic versions of airline boarding passes which will automatically pop up on iPhone screens when you arrive at the airport . The phone knows where you are , thanks to geo-locator technology . That aspect alone will make a lot of gadget-geeky travelers feel all gee-whizzy inside . Even more gee-whizzy : The patent calls for iPhones to automatically check in luggage when passengers approach an airport baggage check-in kiosk . ( See details in the photo gallery above . ) Would security benefit from smart-phone based e-passports and e-drivers licenses ? Would they increase speed , efficiency or security at TSA check points ? Currently -- as most of us know -- TSA agents briefly examine government ID and boarding passes as each passenger presents their documents at a checkpoint at the end of a security line . Related story : Apple 's secrets are n't so secret anymore . Under Apple 's patent , a traveler 's phone would automatically send electronic identification to a TSA agent as soon as the traveler gets in line . While each traveler waits in line , TSA agents would examine the electronic ID at an electronic viewing station . Next , at the X-ray stations , a traveler 's phone would confirm to security agents that the traveler 's ID had already been checked . Throughout the process , the phone photo could be displayed on a screen for comparison with the traveler . Facial recognition software could be included in the process . ( See details on Apple 's proposal in the photo gallery above . ) The patent documents offer a surprising number of details which open doors to key questions about the system , but Apple declined to discuss the patent . The TSA would n't comment either on the viability of Apple 's plan . But other government officials , aviation authorities and longtime industry experts say Apple faces at least three high hurdles if they want to see this idea to fruition . Verification . Several experts say a key question that must be answered is : How would you prove that the phone is yours ? In other words , how would you prove that the e-passport is actually you ? To get around this problem , future phones or electronic ID may require some form of biometric security function -- like fingerprint matching . In general , passports must be designed to be difficult to copy . Recent security changes to U.S. passports have included a hidden radio frequency identification chip to hinder counterfeiters . The chip includes the same data as the paper passport , a unique chip ID number , a digital version of the passport holder 's photo `` which will facilitate the use of face recognition technology at ports-of-entry , '' according to the State Department website . Universality . Any company that intends to create an official electronic ID will have to work closely with countless government authorities to come up with secure , verifiable standards . Think about the complexity of that idea across 50 U.S. states and all the nations that travelers visit each year . An electronic passport would have to be approved by an international standards organization , and it would have to be usable from country to country , according to the U.S. State Department , which oversees U.S. passports . There are ongoing government efforts aimed at using technology to enhance passport security and convenience , according to a State Department official . But the State Department says a smartphone portable e-passport is unlikely to become a reality anytime soon . `` We 're not at a point where the government is going to go digital for any of that stuff , '' says Hughes , of `` Apple Insider . '' Then he laughs and says , `` I mean , I 'm not even allowed to laminate my Social Security card . '' Related story : Opinion : Airport Wi-Fi and mobile services are lacking . Infrastructure . Apple 's patent calls for the placement of special kiosks around the airport which will automatically exchange data with your phone via a close range wireless technology called near field communication ( NFC ) . Apple phones -- including the new iPhone 5 -- do n't include NFC , but they eventually would , according to the iTravel patent . Related story : NFC is n't ready for prime time . If consumers , airlines , airports and the TSA do n't embrace the NFC kiosks , experts say it 's unlikely Apple 's vision would become reality . `` First you would have to sell industry on Apple 's idea , says Hughes . `` Then you 'd have to sell it to travel consumers . '' Case in point : Google Wallet , a mobile phone app which allows people to make purchases with their NFC-enabled android phones . You set it up by attaching your Wallet account to your credit card . Then , you wave your phone near a special NFC-enabled point-of-purchase terminal , and voila ! It 's paid for . Most NewYork City taxis take Google Wallet . Travelers using Newark Liberty Airport can tap their Wallet-enabled phones at the New Jersey Transit rail station and at New York 's Penn Station . Many cabs in San Francisco also are Wallet-friendly . Also , using Google Wallet will get you access to special discount offers . Google is n't ruling out adding more travel features to Wallet -- like e-boarding passes . `` A wallet can hold all kinds of things , '' hints Google 's Nate Tyler . `` Things are absolutely in development . '' A little more than a year after launching , Google Wallet has about 200,000 NFC point of purchase terminals nationwide , according to Google . Although the concept may be ahead of its time , analyst Holland says Google Wallet remains less than successful because there simply are n't enough terminals . `` They 're probably about three years premature , '' Holland says . `` It 's a chicken-and-egg problem , '' says Hughes . `` You need to have the NFC kiosks there and you need to be aware of it and the stores have to invest in it , so sometimes it just does n't catch on . '' Along with making a buck , Silicon Valley appears to be trying to make travel more convenient through smartphone technology . That makes sense , because travelers will need all the help they can get to plot a course through increasingly crowded airports . The number of yearly U.S. commercial airline passengers is expected to nearly double to 1.2 billion by 2032 , according to the FAA . As increasingly complicated smart-phone partnerships evolve between the tech world and the sprawling travel industry bureaucracy , it looks like growing pains will be unavoidable .
Apple releases Passbook travel/coupon app Wednesday . Mobile technology opens door to `` empty pocket '' travel . Apple patent includes unprecedented airport security function . Expert : Hackers would target electronic passports on phones .