Singapore policymakers recently approved a draft that will allow Changi Airport to digitize and automate immigration procedures with biometric technology, which confirms a person's identity through unique physical features such as fingerprints and irises, from the first half of 2024.
Singapore will be one of the first countries in the world to introduce automated, passport-free immigration procedures, said Minister for Communications and Information and Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo. From 2024, Singaporeans and visitors leaving the country will no longer need to present their passports at check-in, but will instead use biometrics.
Biometrics will be used to create a single verification token, deployed at multiple automated touchpoints, from baggage drop to immigration to boarding, she added. This will eliminate the need for customers to repeatedly present travel documents at those points, creating a seamless, convenient experience. However, details of the process have not been released.
Singapore has seen a surge in tourist arrivals since the lifting of border restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Official figures show that Singapore welcomed 9.01 million visitors between January and August 2023, more than three times the number of visitors from the same period last year.
Changi Airport, one of the world's busiest, handled 5.15 million passengers in August alone.
Ms Teo said the country's immigration system must be able to handle this high and growing number of visitors while still ensuring security.
Passenger traffic is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024 and continue to increase thereafter, she said.
Singapore's decision comes after many other passenger transport hubs in Asia adopted biometric technology, such as Hong Kong (China) and Japan.
Accordingly, Hong Kong International Airport introduced the Flight Token self-service biometric authentication system. According to the airport, passengers can pass through different departure checkpoints – from check-in, baggage drop to security check, boarding – with just their face and without having to show their travel documents or boarding passes again.
Passengers aged 11 and above with an e-passport can use the Flight Token system. Currently, the system is available to those travelling to destinations such as Bangkok, Taipei, Tokyo.
Japan is also exploring biometrics. Passengers departing from Tokyo’s Narita and Haneda airports on select flights can register their facial data and go through self-service baggage drop-off counters, security checks and boarding quickly. The information is deleted within 24 hours, so the registration is not permanent.
Minh Hoa (t/h according to Vietnam+, VietNamNet)
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