Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

ICA extends contactless immigration trial to Changi Airport’s Terminal 4

SINGAPORE — Eligible Singaporean travellers arriving at Changi Airport’s Terminal 4 will be able to clear immigration with just an iris and facial scan.

Two flows will be tested at Changi Airport to compare their feasibility, efficiency and accuracy in clearing travellers.

Two flows will be tested at Changi Airport to compare their feasibility, efficiency and accuracy in clearing travellers.

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

SINGAPORE — Eligible Singaporean travellers arriving at Changi Airport’s Terminal 4 will be able to clear immigration with just an iris and facial scan.

They will not need to present their passports or have their thumbprints scanned.

This new contactless clearance system was launched at Terminal 4 on Nov 25, and will be on trial for six months, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Wednesday (Dec 4).

Singapore citizens aged six and above, with passports that begin with the letter K and are issued after Jan 1, 2018, are eligible to take part. No registration is needed.

This is ICA's second such trial for contactless immigration clearance flows, after its first test at the Tuas Checkpoint from April to October this year.

More than 22,500 Singaporean travellers took part in the Tuas trial, and about nine in 10 were able to clear immigration smoothly using only their iris and facial images, ICA said.

The remainder were unfamiliar with the scanning process — leading to unsuccessful attempts to capture quality images for verification, the authority added.

The trial at Changi Airport will incorporate feedback from the Tuas test, such as using animated graphics to guide travellers through the clearance process.

Two flows will be tested at Changi Airport to compare their feasibility, efficiency and accuracy in clearing travellers.

The clearance flow that is now being tested at Changi Airport. Graphic: ICA
The clearance flow previously tested in Tuas that will be trialled at Changi Airport in 2020. Graphic: ICA

The first system is already being tested at an automated lane in Terminal 4, while the second — the same as the one tested in Tuas — will go on trial from early 2020 onwards.

"ICA encourages all eligible citizens travelling via Changi Airport Terminal 4 to participate in the trial," the authority added.

ICA said that it hopes to implement fully contactless clearance for all eligible travellers from 2022.

Related topics

Changi Airport Immigration and Checkpoints Authority passport Travel scan eye facial recognition

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to our newsletter for the top features, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.