Singapore To Go Passport-Free: Changi Airport Set To Introduce Automated Clearance In 2024

Come 2024, passengers are set to have a seamless experience at the Changi Airport of Singapore, regarded as one of the world's best airports.

Singapore Communications Minister Josephine Tao has announced that Singapore "will be one of the first few countries in the world to introduce automated, passport-free immigration clearance."

What does going "passport-free" mean?

Passengers arriving at Singapore's Changi Airport will undergo automated immigration clearance, allowing passengers to depart the city-state without passports.

Changi airport in Singapore

Instead, the airport will be using biometric data for clearance. This change will ensure that travellers don't need to show their documents repeatedly.

How will the biometric system work?

From bag drops to immigration clearance to boarding, biometric-enabled automated touchpoints will be employed. Thus, biometrics will be used as a token of authorisation.

Biometric authentication is a security process that relies on the unique biological characteristics of individuals to verify their identity. The five most common types of biometric identifiers are fingerprints, facial, voice, iris, and palm or finger vein patterns.

Why has Singapore airport decided to go passport-free?

The Changi airport in Singapore is considered to be one of the busiest.

The airport serves more than 100 airlines and sends flights to 400 cities across 100 countries and territories worldwide. In June this year, the airport handled 5.12 million passenger movements, the highest since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Singapore's Changi airport to go passport-free

On why Singapore's Changi airport is going passport-free, the city state's communications minister said: "Our immigration systems must be able to manage this high and growing volume of travellers efficiently and provide a positive clearance experience while ensuring our security.

Which countries have biometric authentication at their airports?

Facial recognition and biometrics-driven clearance exist at several airports worldwide, including the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, the Hong Kong International Airport, the Tokyo Nareta, the Tokyo Haneda, London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle.

DigiYatra: Facial recognition technology

In India, since August of last year, face-based biometric passenger screening system has existed at several airports, including Kolkata, Varanasi, Pune, Vijayawada, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad.

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