Changi Airport is served by more than 100 airlines serving 400 destinations in approximately 100 countries.
Singapore:
Singapore’s Changi Airport is scheduled to become passport-free from 2024 through automatic immigration, CNN reported.
Officials said the airport will introduce automatic immigration controls, allowing passengers to exit the city-state without a passport and using only biometric data.
The announcement was made by Singapore’s Communications Minister Josephine Teo during Monday’s parliament, where several changes to Singapore’s immigration laws were passed.
“Singapore will be one of the first countries in the world to introduce automated passport control,” he said.
Biometric technology, along with facial recognition software, is already being used to some extent in automated lanes at Changi Airport’s immigration checkpoints.
However, Teo said the upcoming changes will “reduce the need for passengers to repeatedly present travel documents at touchpoints, allowing for a more seamless and convenient process,” according to CNN.
Biometrics will be used to create a “single authentication token” that will be used at various automated touchpoints, from bag drop to immigration to boarding, eliminating the need for physical travel documents such as boarding passes and passports. Become.
However, Mr Teo stressed that many countries outside of Singapore that do not offer passport-free immigration will still require a passport.
Singapore’s Changi Airport is often ranked among the best and busiest airports in the world, and is home to more than 100 airlines serving 400 destinations in around 100 countries and territories around the world. Masu.
In June, it handled 5.12 million passenger movements, exceeding the 5 million mark for the first time since January 2020, when the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic began.
The airport is a destination in itself and currently has four terminals. It plans to expand by adding a fifth terminal to accommodate the growing number of travelers.
Changi Airport expects passenger and air traffic to return to pre-pandemic levels and expressed hope that upcoming biometric systems will help make passenger flow smoother.
“Our immigration system must be able to efficiently manage this ever-increasing number of travelers, ensuring their safety while providing a positive immigration process,” Teo said, according to CNN. .
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
