Miami International Airport (MIA) in the US has announced that the airport has contracted for an additional 44 self-service passport control kiosks.

The automated passport control (APC) kiosks will be supplied by Sita, a global provider of border management solutions and air transport IT. Miami International will soon be using a total of 80 APC kiosks to help accelerate the customs and immigration process.

MIA is a major hub for international traffic, with around 50 per cent of its passengers travelling internationally, and it was one of the first to work with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to automate the arrival process.

Sita provided the first APC kiosks to the airport back in 2013, which featured sophisticated biometric technology to quickly match passengers’ passports with face and fingerprint data, helping to reduce wait times. Following the great success of wait times being reduced by as much as 40 per cent for US citizens, the airport is now investing further.

Emilio T González, director, MIA, said: “This investment in more than 40 additional kiosks for MIA demonstrates our commitment to providing the best possible arrival for our international travellers. It is one of several investments we are making to improve the overall passenger experience.”

The new kiosks have been approved by CBP for accurate data collection and verification of passenger facial and fingerprint biometrics against passengers’ passports. They can be used to process any passenger from the US, Canada or any of the 38 visa waiver countries, including US lawful permanent residents or “green card holders.”

Paul Houghton, Sita president, Americas, said: “The use of Sita’s APC kiosks at MIA has been a huge success, and the reduction in wait times has been significant. Our kiosks process passengers in less than two minutes, compared to longer waits for a CBP agent during peak travel periods. As the global leader in integrated border solutions, Sita provides technology that benefits everyone. Passengers move quickly through the airport; airlines can de-plane passengers quickly for on-time turnarounds, while CBP agents maintain high security levels.”

Sita’s APC kiosks are already in use in MIA’s North and South terminals, and the additional units will be installed in the North, South and Central terminals. – TradeArabia News Service