ZA airport delays not caused by Idemia biometrics system

Contrary to several media reports, delays in passenger processing at South Africa’s largest airport are not due to problems with the biometric system being installed by Idemia – because the new system is neither due nor live yet.

It is clear that air passengers are experiencing excessive delays, with the Board of Airline Representatives of South Africa (Barsa) requesting a meeting with the country’s Home Affairs Minister to discuss the problem, South Africa’s Travel News reports. It has also been confirmed to Biometric Update that Idemia has split with its local partner, InfoVerge, leading to a legal dispute.

However, there is no “newly installed biometric system at border control points across South African airports,” as the publication describes it. IOL is likewise incorrect in stating that the new Biometric Movement Control System (BMCS) went live at two airports in 2022.

Idemia is installing a new biometric system at King Shaka International Airport (KSIA) for Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and South Africa’s Home Office, which is due to go live in “late-2024,” Idemia VP of Global Corporate Relations Lisa Shoemaker tells Biometric Update in an interview. ACSA told Travel News that the system will launch in November.

The installation is currently underway, Shoemaker says, and Idemia expects no delays in the deployment, including from the litigation. Shoemaker declined to comment on the specifics of the dispute with InfoVerge due to the pending litigation.

The company has another local partner already in place to fulfill its Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) obligations under the three-phase contract.

Once the deployment at KSIA is complete, the system is expected to be deployed to OR Tambo and Cape Town International Airports.

Shoemaker says Idemia’s biometric passenger processing “tends to create a much-improved customer experience,” citing the results of a similar system deployed at Singapore’s Changi Airport as an example. “The projects that we’re deploying on behalf of our partners tend to be massive improvements in terms of efficiency, throughput and overall customer experience. I would expect that we would see similar feedback from what South Africa is deploying.”

Work on the system’s hardware and software is currently underway, Shoemaker says.

Travel News suggests that an Airlines Association official told it “problems with the new technology have persisted since the project began in 2022.” A few paragraphs later, it notes that Idemia was selected by ACSA in 2023. The publication also quotes a statement from InfoVerge, yet gives no indication that “any issues that may have arisen” would not include the problems recently experienced by travellers.

Article Topics

ABC gates  |  Africa  |  airports  |  Airports Company South Africa (ACSA).  |  biometrics  |  government purchasing  |  IDEMIA  |  Infoverge Solutions  |  South Africa