SITA Develops Biometric Kiosks Ahead of EU’s Enhanced Border Protocols

Multinational information technology provider SITA has released a new Positioning Paper that details how it plans to address future changes to the European Union Schengen Zone border controls, planned for 2022.

In a post on its website, SITA — an experienced service provider to the air travel and border control industries — highlights its new TS6 Automated Border Control (ABC) Kiosks, noting that they are capable of adapting to future upgrades including the accommodation of devices for capturing a traveler’s biometrics, and the integration of a printer for providing receipts to travelers.

The Shengen area is a zone of 26 European countries that allow the free flow of travel between their shared borders, while the EU’s new Entry-Exit System (EES) is meant to provide greater security and ensure more consistent checks on those travelling the entirety of Europe’s external borders.

“The introduction of EES will bring significant benefits but also presents operational challenges for EU member states to achieve smooth and effective border processes,” said Jeremy Springall, Vice President of Border Management for SITA. ”Maximizing the value delivered by the introduction of EES requires an approach that goes beyond the initial acquisition of gates, kiosks, and biometric devices. Member states now have a unique opportunity to positively transform their border operations through the intelligent integration of new and existing border management systems.”

SITA says that its ABC kiosks will serve to alleviate possible congestion points and improve passenger flow through their ability to perform parallel passenger processing. 

“[W]hile face capture and matching begin the moment a traveler enters the gate, the next traveler can already be scanning their travel document in readiness to enter. This solution accelerates the process and provides a walk-through experience that saves on average five seconds in passenger processing time,” writes SITA on its website.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the travel industry is among the hardest hit, with many people around the world unable or unwilling to venture far from their homes let alone visit another country.

In anticipation of the travel restrictions eventually being lifted, SITA also draws attention to the hygienic benefits of contactless biometric technologies like the facial recognition capabilities of the ABC kiosks, as well as the role that improved passenger flow will play in alleviating crowding that is common in busy airports and border checkpoints.

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October 21, 2020 – by Tony Bitzionis