Australian SmartGates open up to U.S. passengers

Following the successful use of SmartGate system in Australia, the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, along with U.S. Customs and Border Protection have announced that Australia’s SmartGate border control system is now available to U.S. Global Entry members on a trial basis, Future Travel Experience reported.

“The extension of SmartGate to US Global Entry Program members will mean more travellers than ever before will have a choice about how they are processed when they arrive in Australia,” Australian Minister for Home Affairs, Jason Clare said.

The SmartGates used in Australia come from biometric solutions leader Morpho and reference the biometric data included in Australian ePassports, along with local facial recognition technology to verify the identity of travelers.

Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Eligible participants present their passports at Global Entry kiosks and then have their fingerprints scanned for verification.

Under this new trial agreement, American Global Entry passengers are able to use the SmartGate upon arrival in Australia if they carry a valid U.S. ePassport and are at least 16 years old.

Australia and the United States are not the only countries employing the use of biometric gates in their airports. As previously reported in BiometricUpdate.com, Vision-Box recently completed the deployment of eGates at Riga International Airport in Portugal and eGates at the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam have processed nearly one million passengers to date.

Article Topics

airport biometrics  |  Australia  |  aviation security  |  biometrics  |  border control  |  ePassports  |  morpho  |  security