One of the world’s busiest, cleanest and best airports according to Skytrax is all set to roll out biometrics as verification instead of presenting their passports and boarding passes.
After an initiative to employ biometrics for verification is implemented later this year, passengers flying out of Changi Airport will no longer need to submit their passports or boarding passes upon passing the immigration.
“We are working on an initiative where departing travellers at Changi Airport need to just display their biometrics for verification at the different departure touchpoints, without having to produce any physical identification or travel papers,” said Singapore Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean on the 17th of May 2022.
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) had previously said that in future, Singapore residents leaving or arriving at Changi will be able to clear immigration without needing to present their passports. Instead, their identities will be verified using iris and facial biometrics as they walk through clearance gates.
ICA also announced earlier this month that foreign visitors who entered their facial and iris biometrics on their first visit to Singapore will be able to receive automatic immigration clearance on subsequent visits beginning in the second half of this year. This is consistent with the agency’s objective of making automatic clearance the standard for all travellers by 2023.
Teo, who also serves as the Coordinating Minister for National Security, stated that the aviation industry should seize the opportunity to improve service levels and alter the consumer experience.
He went on to say that technology and digitalisation are key to this adding that simultaneously, cyber security must be tightened to secure consumer data and maintain the resilience of aviation systems, which are frequently interconnected.
