Four BorderXpress kiosks have been deployed at Keflavik International Airport (KEF) in Iceland as part of a six-month pilot programme.
The BorderXpress technology was developed by Chris Gilliland, director of Innovative Travel Solutions (ITS) at Vancouver International Airport.
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The pilot programme will simulate the requirements of the Entry/Exit System (EES) of the Schengen Area. It is the first automated kiosk-based border control solution in a Schengen member state.
The EES is part of the Smart Border package introduced by the European Commission. It is set to be fully operational in all Schengen countries by the end of 2021.
It seeks to register data on entry, exit, and refusal of entry of third-country nationals crossing the external borders of all Schengen member states via a central system.
Keflavik Airport technical and infrastructure director Gudmundur Dadi Runarsson said: “By running a pilot for this new and innovative solution, we want to gather information and prepare ourselves to make the process easier for everyone when the new regulations are implemented.
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By GlobalData“These new kiosks will help to speed up the process for passengers, improve their experience and ensure an enjoyable journey through Keflavik Airport and will provide important information for the development and operation of our new border facility expected to come into use in 2022.”
BorderXpress utilises self-service biometric-enabled kiosks to speed up the border control process.
Passengers select their language at the kiosk, scan travel documents and answer simple questions.
An image of each traveller’s face will also be captured by the kiosk to compare with and verify against the photo in their electronic passport. Travellers then take their completed kiosk receipt to a border services authority.
In July 2018, BorderXpress became the first permanent kiosks to provide entry and exit border control in Europe with the introduction of 74 biometric-enabled kiosks at Pafos International Airport and Larnaka International Airport in Cyprus.
