Those planning to visit Singapore next year will be able to enjoy passport-free travel after the island nation passed a progressive law this week.
In this regard, instead of using passports, Singapore Changi Airport is set to utilize biometric sensors for departing passengers from the island nation, VisaGuide.World reports.
“Singapore will be one of the first few countries in the world to introduce automated, passport-free immigration clearance,” Communications Minister Josephine Teo pointed out.
As CNN reports, he also emphasized that such changes will reduce the need for passengers to repeatedly present their travel documents at touchpoints and allow for smoother and more convenient processing.
According to him, the plan is to use biometrics to create a “single token of authentication” that can be used at various automated touchpoints throughout the airport, including processes from baggage drop to immigration clearance and boarding.
Teo also noted that this innovation eliminates the need for physical travel documents such as boarding passes and passports within the airport ecosystem.
While these advances are set to improve the travel experience within Changi Airport, passports will still be mandatory for travelers going to countries outside Singapore that do not offer passport-free travel.
As of September 2023, the VisaGuide Passport Index places the Singaporean passport at the top spot globally, granting Singaporean citizens visa-free access to 163 countries worldwide. However, holders of Singaporean passports must apply for visas in advance for entry into the remaining nations.
In addition, Changi Airport, often hailed as the best airport in the world and one of the busiest, serves over 100 airlines, connecting over 400 cities in 100 countries and territories worldwide. The airport saw an important milestone in June, with 5.12 million passenger movements, surpassing the five million for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020.
Apart from Singapore or Changi Airport, airports around the world are also embracing biometric technology to increase security and improve the passenger experience.
For example, Dubai International Airport introduced the biometric tunnel “Smart Gates” in 2018. These gates use facial recognition technology to verify the identity of travelers in just five seconds. Passengers can use their fingerprints or face scans for authentication instead of relying on physical passports, illustrating the potential for a passport-free travel experience.
Moreover, various airports have also implemented facial recognition technology to some extent. Hong Kong International Airport, Tokyo Narita, Tokyo Haneda, Indira Gandhi International in Delhi, London Heathrow, and Paris Charles de Gaulle, among others, have embraced this technology to enhance security, speed up passenger processing and provide a more convenient travel experience.