Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) in Barbados, is expanding its border control programme with more biometric-enabled kiosks from Innovative Travel Solutions by Vancouver International Airport (YVR).
With the expansion, the airport now has a total of 48 biometric-enabled kiosks in use, utilising ITS’ self-service global border control solution, BorderXpress to enhance security and speed of service for passengers.
BorderXpress was first implemented at GAIA as a pilot programme with 16 kiosks in August 2018, aiming to simplify the border clearance process and reduce wait times for passengers. Now the programme has been expanded to include a total of 48 kiosks.
The kiosks will be available for use by all arriving passengers, expanding from the original use being limited to residents from Barbados, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region and those holding permanent or indefinite status in Barbados.
“The implementation of an additional 32 BorderXpress kiosks at Grantley Adams International Airport will ultimately simplify the border clearance process for all arriving passengers and reduce wait times significantly,” says Chris Gilliland, Director of Innovative Travel Solutions, Vancouver Airport Authority.
Using the kiosks, passengers scan their travel documents, complete their declaration and eligible travellers will verify their identity and admissibility using facial recognition technology before proceeding to a border services officer for final inspection. YVR say the BorderXpress kiosks are proven to reduce passenger wait times by more than 60%.
The equipment is also accessible to people with disabilities, can be configured with any language and can process any passenger, including families travelling as a group.
“As air travel continues to experience remarkable growth, we understand the need for greater innovation to solve passenger processing challenges. As an airport operator ourselves, we prioritise researching and designing technology to improve the overall travellers’ experience, not only at our own airport, but across the travel industry,” says Gilliland. “We are proud to expand our global border control solution in Barbados. This is an exciting milestone for our team as we continue to work with airports and governments around the world to meet their critical passenger processing needs.”
