Border management agencies need to process more travelers with fewer resources.
Automating the border control process for low-risk travelers frees up border control resources to focus on higher-risk travelers.
SITA’s iBorders® BorderAutomation offers secure self-service gates and kiosks that provide an alternative to traditional resource-intensive manual border controls for travelers holding biometric travel documents.
The government of Mexico is strengthening border control by automating the entry process by utilizing SITA’s Automated Border Control kiosks to use biometric technology to capture fingerprints to verify passengers’ identities and improve national security.
SITA has rolled out 100 kiosks across three major airports.
These international airports, in Mexico City, Cancun and Los Cabos, are operated by three airport companies – Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México (AICM), Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR) and Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP).
(See in Action! iBorders BorderAutomation gates allow for full self-service border crossing, enabling speedy, fully secure border control and reducing traveler processing times to seconds. Courtesy of SITA and YouTube)
SITA is the systems integrator across the project delivering to the needs of all the Mexican authorities and the private enterprises in the various locations.
“As visitor numbers at international airports grow, the need for migration agents grows as well, but we have the technology to help us overcoming that challenge,” explains Enrique De la Madrid, Secretary General, SECTUR, the Mexican Ministry of Tourism.
“This automation will ensure security and facilitate the arrival of visitors to the country.”
“The installation of these kiosks represents another example of the implementation of state-of-the-art technology in Mexico, aimed at preserving the safety of people and their goods, as well as facilitating activities related to aviation,” added Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, Secretary General, SCT, the Mexican Ministry of Communications and Transportation.
“Automating the entry of domestic and foreign passengers who do not require a visa is achieved by capturing biometric data (fingerprints, photography and scanning of the passport), which quadruples the capacity of passenger attention for each migration agent.”
Elbson Quadros, SITA Vice President, Latin America, said, “This is an exciting development in Mexico.”
“The country is well known for its tourism and our automated border control kiosks will improve the experience for passengers at these key airports.”
As with most border management operations, making this improvement involves many government agencies working together with various airport operators.
SITA is the integrator working with all parties, drawing on our decades of border automation experience with more than 40 governments worldwide, to deliver a secure and seamless passenger journey in Mexico.
Initially, the SITA automated border control kiosks will be used to securely identify passengers as they enter the country.
In time, they will facilitate the full admission process for Mexican citizens and those non-citizens who do not require a visa for entry.
(The Mexican government contracted air transportation IT provider SITA to roll out 100 automated border control (ABC) kiosks at three major airports across the country including Mexico City, Cancun and Los Cabos airports. Courtesy of Sarah Holmes and YouTube)
Arriving passengers will use the kiosks to provide standard travel information to the authorities, place their hand to be scanned for fingerprints and then once their identity is verified against the INM (National Institute of Immigration) database they will be given the all clear to enter the country.
Automating the entry process will help speed up passenger processing while maintaining high levels of security.
SITA border technology enables governments to clear large numbers of passengers in record time.
Travelers from up to five SITA iBorders® BorderAutomation ABCKiosks can be managed from just one immigration counter and these kiosks have been shown to reduce the time passengers spend in line by as much as 40%.
“Automation increases security and efficiency. Increased numbers of low-risk passengers are processed quickly, conveniently, and cost-effectively while we maintain the security and integrity of our border,” added Gerardo Garcia, Commissioner to INM, the National Institute of Immigration.
“By automating the arrival process using SITA’s world-class biometric kiosks, we will improve the speed and accuracy of checks of passengers arriving in Mexico.”
The full rollout across Mexico City, Cancun and Los Cabos International airports is now complete and the 100 SITA kiosks are expected to securely process close to eight million arrivals in the first year.
