Israel’s implementation of a national biometric ID program is causing serious delays at the country’s main airport, reports Haaretz.
Israel’s legislature, the Knesset, approved the implementation of the biometric ID program earlier this year amid some controversy, with the law coming into effect on June 1st.
As Haaretz reports, travelers arriving at Ben-Gurion Airport have been facing hour-long delays due to confusion about how to use passport scanning machines, and which machines were meant for traditional passports and which were meant for biometric passports. The machines can scan both, but a lack of available airport staff has prevented the matter from being clarified for many travelers.
Long lines have also formed at Interior Ministry offices, which have been overwhelmed by citizens seeking to upgrade to biometric IDs, despite the fact that traditional IDs are still legitimate.
In any case, the biometric documents are proliferating quickly, with 107,000 biometric passports issued in June alone.
Source: Haaretz
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July 7, 2017 – by Alex Perala