An innovative Automated Border Control system has recently been inaugurated at Copenhagen Airport. Vision-Box developed and deployed a unique solution that allows passengers, departing to or arriving from outside the Schengen Area, to clear immigration in the same hall using a unique bank of self-service biometric eGates. Security, but also efficiency and passenger experience, were on the agenda. This landmark project in the country was implemented in collaboration with the Danish partner Biometric Solutions.
EU citizens aged 18 years and above, holding an Electronic Passport and flying out or into the Schengen area will be using 9 Automated Border Control eGates to cross the border at the entrance/exit of Pier C (used for departure/arrival flights from countries outside the Schengen Area).
The official inaugural ceremony of this innovative solution was held in the presence of distinct members of the Government and the Airport. A new approach to passenger flow has considerably expanded the hall capacity and is making the lives of the 7 million passengers, who travel to or from destinations outside the Schengen Area, easier. This was made possible through the deployment of a flexible, two-way flow ABC solution based on 3 departures, 3 arrival and 3 bi-directional eGates in a single bank. The first of its kind to process departing and arriving passengers as such, the new eGates allow for the Danish Police, in charge of passenger control and risk management at the airport, to dynamically operate touch points by switching the flow according to the predicted volume of passengers entering or exiting the Schengen area.
This means a significant improvement in operational efficiency and in security for the Airport and for the Danish Police. A powerful software orchestration platform offers Border Guards not only the reliable identification of travelers, but also an overview of every passenger’s process, the ability to immediately react to alert situations (forged documents, identity theft, left objects, hit on watch lists, doors forced, among others) and the control of the whole security infrastructure (i.e. the configuration of operation rules and flows of the eGates).
Copenhagen Airport is the largest aviation hub in Northern Europe, has recorded more than 26 million passengers in 2015. Aiming to stretch this capacity to 40 million per year, the adoption of this edge-cutting solution is part of a modernization plan to improve security and improve effectiveness in flow management. Vision-Box experience in the conception and deployment of Automated Border Control and Passenger Flow management solutions, via advanced layout modelling and passenger flow tools, was pivotal to delivering an integrated, yet customized solution addressing the need to improve the airport capacity, offering a streamlined passenger experience.
Jean-François Lennon, Vice-President for Global Business Development & Sales of Vision-Box highlights what is so special about this project: “For the very first time, an airport and a border authority together own total flexibility to adjust the throughput of entry and exit points at the border, according to the predicted passenger volume. Copenhagen Airport receives millions of passengers per year and has adopted a future-proof solution, perfectly aligned with its improvement strategies on operations, security and efficiency. We’re glad to contribute, together with Biometric Solutions, to the optimization of Passenger Flows, to the reduction of queues and waiting times, ultimately transforming the experience of the passenger for the better, who will now have time to enjoy one of the largest retail areas in the world!”
The vb i-match™ eGates are very easy to use and the process takes just a few seconds: travelers authenticate their passport through a latest generation travel document reader and match the information contained on the chip with their live-captured facial biometrics just by looking at the camera.
According to Alex Ramskov Johannsen, CEO of Biometric Solutions, “Biometric Solutions are proud to help Denmark welcome its visitors with a solution that is based on state-of-the-art, fast, very user-friendly technology. Our focus is always to deliver a great experience to both the employees servicing the citizens and to citizens using our solutions. The eGates in Copenhagen Airport connect biometrics, security and convenience for citizens and airport staff in a way that makes it a showcase of the future of border control and, more generally, of intelligent ID control at any kind of gate.”
This project takes place under the 4-year framework agreement celebrated in 2014 between the Denmark Government and the consortium Vision-Box / Biometric Solutions. Under this agreement, the consortium is delivering biometric solutions and related services to improve processes related to citizen’s electronic identity to, among others, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
