It’s been repeatedly named the best airport in the world, boasting the tallest indoor waterfall, luxurious airport lounges, rooftop bars and even a butterfly garden.
And now, with its new passport-free system, passengers can breeze by immigration in under 10 seconds.
At Singapore’s , travellers can pass through the checkpoint without the need to show their passport, due to facial recognition and iris biometrics.
The futuristic technology was rolled out on September 30 across all four terminals, with Singapore’s city dwellers – permanent residents and long-term pass holders – enjoying seamless travel.
As of October 15, close to 1.5 million travellers have benefitted from the ‘passport-less’ New Clearance Concept. According to a statement by the city’s Immigration & Checkpoint Authority (ICA), the average clearance time has been reduced by 60%, from 25 to 10 seconds.
Foreign visitors are also able to enjoy the convenience. Travellers must still present their passports upon arrival but can use the passport-less system for departure, provided their biometric data was captured on arrival.
The ICA advised all travellers to bring their passports, even those using the system, as their destination countries will likely still require them for clearance.
Children below six are currently unable to use the new system and will need to go through manual immigration clearance.
Passport-free technology has been in the works for a while, with many countries racing to get facial recognition systems implemented.
By 2025 Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport hopes to introduce its Smart Travel Project, which aims to install biometric sensors in every identification checkpoint of the airport, from check-in counters to immigration booths, duty-free tills, airline lounges and boarding gates.
The technology is already in use at certain points of the airport, including on flights operated by its partner airline Etihad, yet it plans to expand across the airport, according to CNN.
‘We’re expanding nine touchpoints and this would be a world first,’ Andrew Murphy, chief information officer at Abu Dhabi Airport told the outlet.
Hong Kong International Airport, Tokyo Narita, Tokyo Haneda and Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International also have biometric terminals in place.
European airports are jumping on the trend too. Last year the International Air Transport System (IATA) partnered with British Airways to trial the first fully integrated digital identity international flight.
A test passenger flew from London Heathrow to Rome Fiumicino using only their digital identity. Their stored passport, e-ticket and visa were stored in a digital wallet and verified by biometric recognition.
Milan Linate Airport has also introduced ‘FaceBoarding’ for its passengers after a successful trial period. The facial recognition system allows adult passengers to pass through security and board their flight without a boarding pass or passport.
After checking in online or at the airport, there are designated kiosks where passengers can register for FaceBoarding, there’s also the promise of a FaceBoarding mobile app for both Android and iOS.
While no airport is officially considered to be passport-free, it seems the future of air travel is headed that way.
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