Carrasco International Airport has launched its ‘Easy Airport’ campaign, inspired by its new eGates from Vision-Box.
Puerta del Sur S.A. and the National Direction of Migration of Uruguay have been working to enhance SISCA (Integrated Airport Security and Control System), and use new technologies to improve security and passenger experience at the terminal.
eGates
There had been travel document readers and fingerprint scanners in place since 2014, but the airport has now installed Vision-Box’s i-match eGates, becoming the first airport in the country to install automated border control. The ceremony to unveil the new technology took place last Friday, with executives from Carrasco, Vision Box, and national and international government authorities.
The eGates, which are located at the Arrivals hall, match the facial image stored on the chip of the passenger’s passport with their live image. Also, background checks against the traveller are made during the process. The eGates are part of Carrasco’s programme called Easy Airport, which aims to provide a simple and quick solution at the border control checkpoint.
This programme is available for all international flights, however the passenger must be a Uruguayan citizen with an ePassport and be over 18 years old. Argentinian citizens are expected to be supported in the future, though.
Eng. Ricardo Cerri, CTO at Puerta del Sur, said: “The new procedure will have a huge impact in streamlining the passenger journey at the airport, especially with the reduction of waiting times. We are expecting a reduction of transaction times per person in migratory procedures to drop around 65%, which is a direct benefit to the user of Easy Airport, but also for the users of manual booths, which will also be relieved from congestion. We are very happy to be able to offer our travellers more convenience, agility and efficiency while contributing in securing the border control in Uruguay.”
The Minister of Interior, Eduardo Bonomi, said: “(The eGates) give the country safety and swiftness. Safety because passengers cannot skip the identification process bearing their Uruguayan ID or passport, which compares immediately and accurately against unforgeable data. And swiftness because now a process that usually takes longer, with this solution is quite faster.”
AIC Desktops
Along with the eGates, Vision-Box’s Automated Immigration Control (AIC) desktops have been installed. These will help border agents to identify passengers, if they choose to undergo a manual check.
The gates and AIC desktops are part of a software suite, which is future-proofed to support the development of SISCA and other ideas the airport plans to bring forward. These could include a single token passenger flow system and Vision-Box Orchestra.
The airport hopes that with the development of SISCA and the other planned ideas that it will be able to work with border control authorities outside of Uruguay to receive detailed information about the passengers before they get to the border.
Jean-François Lennon, Vice-President for Global Business Development & Sales at Vision-Box, said: “Carrasco Airport is now enjoying the benefits of modern, state-of-the art technology.
“We are proud to be working with such a forward-thinking partner and we will certainly be working together in the future to achieve more together, leveraging smart data to the benefit of actionable intelligence, efficient processes and a distinct experience for their customers, and keeping Carrasco and Puerta del Sur a reference hub in Latin America.”
