Vancouver Airport’s Biometric Kiosk Solution Flies to Europe

“Developed by YVR’s independent business unit, Innovative Travel Solutions (ITS), it’s designed to let travelers perform their own passenger processing at automated kiosks.”

Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is exporting its biometric kiosk technology to Europe, with Cyprus’s Pafos International Airport and Larnaka International Airport both taking advantage of BorderXpress.

The solution was first implemented at YVR last year. Developed by YVR’s independent business unit, Innovative Travel Solutions (ITS), it’s designed to let travelers perform their own passenger processing at automated kiosks. They can their faces and travel documents, which the kiosks verify using facial recognition technology; then they just take their kiosk receipts to border screening officers for final approval.

Hermes Airports, the operator of the Pafos and Larnaka airports, is now implementing 74 BorderXpress kiosks across both locations, with exit kiosks available for all travelers and entry kiosks available to European Union citizens. The move follows an initial pilot project at Pafos, and is aimed at improving the airports’ efficiency and security. In a statement announcing the projects, Hermes Airports CEO Eleni Kaloyirou explained, “We are dedicated to establishing Pafos and Larnaka as industry leading airports, and our commitment to prioritizing both safety and passenger experience is paramount to this, especially as we seek to increase passenger traffic.”

The move reflects a broader trend of increasing adoption of biometric passenger processing and border screening at airports, driven by both government and private air travel sector interests. YVR’s ITS is emerging as an important player on this frontier, with the company asserting that its BorderXpress kiosks are now in use across 41 airports and sea ports, and have already processed over 181 million passengers.

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July 10, 2018 – by Alex Perala