New automated passport control kiosks from SITA go live at New York airport

In an effort to provide a quick and smooth experience customs immigration process for passengers, 41 new Automated Passport Control self-service kiosks from SITA have gone live at JetBlue’s new international arrivals hall extension at Terminal 5 at JFK International Airport in New York.

Airports, airlines and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have collaborated to roll out of automated kiosks in phases to deal with the rapid growth in the number of passengers taking international flights, which the International Air Transport Association anticipates will reach 1.45 billion by 2016.

Phase I, which began in May 2013, allowed U.S. citizens to use APC kiosks. Phase II, which expanded eligibility to include Canadian citizens, started in November 2013. In January 2014, Phase III, expanded eligibility to visitors from the additional 37 countries that are part of the Visa Waiver Program.

JetBlue’s new Phase III APC kiosks allow passengers from the U.S., Canada or any visa waiver country to provide their travel document, biometric data and customs declaration prior to speaking to a CBP officer. This automates much of the work that used to be done at immigration counters, and have been shown to reduce waiting times at airports by up to 40 percent.

SITA’s APC kiosks been approved by the CBP for accurate data collection and verification of passenger facial and fingerprint biometrics against passengers’ passports. And these kiosks have been supplied to other U.S. airports including Orlando, Miami, Tampa, Boston, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

The new kiosks are part of JetBlue’s investment into its new arrival facilities in its T5 at JFK, and will help process the nearly three million international passengers that go through the gate annually.

In October, 40 new APC kiosks were installed at the Los Angeles International Airport’s Tom Bradley International Terminal. Earlier this year, United Airlines installed 20 BorderXpress APC kiosks in the Terminal C customs hall at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Article Topics

airports  |  border control  |  border security  |  immigration  |  immigration control  |  passports  |  SITA