Czech Republic readies for EU biometric entry/exit with secunet kiosk trial, Frontex

As the European Union Entry/Exit System (EES) slowly approaches, with its requirement to include the biometrics of all passenger entries into and exits out of the Schengen area to third countries, Prague Airport begins live testing on passengers.

Czech Border Police and the airport authority tested travelers who had never used registration kiosks before to try them out. The two ‘easykiosks,’ from secunet, take passengers through the registration process, questionnaire and biometrics capture – face and four fingers – to collect all the data fields for entry into the EES database.

The tests found that passengers got through the process as planned, with an average process time of 89 seconds. A concern across the Schengen area and in third country departure points, such as UK airports, ferry ports and train stations, is how long it takes each passenger to register and submit details and biometrics.

Prague Airport has installed 58 secunet easykiosks which will all be operational in future. There are also 17 secunet ‘easygates’ in operation.

This follows secunet’s recent announcement that it will supply its technologies to Zurich Airport in a 12-year, US$45 million contract. Bulgarian airports are also using secunet for EES compliance.

Frontex gears up for more border biometrics

Meanwhile Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, (re)presents the findings of its nine-month study into the future of biometrics for border crossings and control.

The EUR 500,000 ($590,000) ‘Technology Foresight on Biometrics for the Future of Travel series of reports, including a 25-page executive summary, seem to say that Frontex has identified that it needs to look ahead, that biometrics will be an important part of border control, but which biometrics technologies and how they are implemented and used will depend on future conditions and even user familiarity.

For those who only have three minutes to be baffled, Frontex has produced an accompanying video.

Frontex has been developing pilot biometric EES systems such as in Bulgaria and Spain. It has also been criticized for ballooning costs.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  border security  |  eGates  |  Entry/Exit System (EES)  |  Europe  |  face biometrics  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  Frontex  |  secunet