Industry Focus
Long Lines at Pre-Check
- By Ralph C. Jensen
- Nov 01, 2016
Remember back in the old days
when having pre-check stamped
on your boarding pass meant
getting through security a little bit
quicker, and with the convenience
of not having to take your laptop
out, removing your shoes and not having to have an
inspection on toiletries.
You remember those days? They are long gone and
TSA Pre-check is now as crowded as other lines at
airport security entrances.
At one point, I actually bought an annual pass for
a blue card, or something like that, so that I could expedite
the security lines even quicker. That didn’t last
long, either. The lines at security check points are just
as long, and just as tedious as they have ever been.
In its infancy, Pre-check was an incredible tool for
the business traveler who spent a lot of time at the airport,
or any airport, to streamline access to the gate
where that person would fly from. If you only have a
carry on, a person could spend another half hour or
so in the office and get more of their daily workload
accomplished.
I loved Pre-check, not because I could stay at the
office longer, but for the ease of getting through security.
I don’t usually mind the idea of a 90 minute arrival
window, (I’m always afraid I’ll get left behind, so
I arrive early.) but there are those that are constantly
arriving at the last minute to get through security.
Streamlined passenger flow, without the compromising
security, would be the goal of every airport
around the world. You have to wonder if the two can
co-exist in today’s busy world.
It would seem that Vision-Box, a company headquartered
in Lisbon, Portugal, has brought to the
market a biometric that can keep the lines of passengers
flowing without compromising security efforts.
The company recently installed six self-service security
checkpoint eGates at Princess Julianna International
Airport (SXM), located at St. Maarten that
have been implemented as an integrated passenger
experience program.
The first milestone of the comprehensive program
has been achieved: six self-service Security Checkpoint
eGates have been recently installed to provide
a seamless experience to departing travelers, who
will simply have to scan their Bar Coded Boarding
Pass (BCBP) at the self-service eGates prior to entering
departure hall. The eGates, integrated with the
common-use infrastructure of the airport, offer a fast
security control procedure, validating the authenticity
of the boarding pass and confirming the passenger’s
eligibility to enter the restricted area on the day of
travel for all airlines operating on the island. Once the
process is completed successfully, the passengers proceed
to departure level.
“SXM Airport is proud of this accomplishment,
which is another successful milestone,” said Larry
Donker, SXM airport deputy managing director.
“Automation has and continues to revolutionize the
aviation industry. With self-service solutions being the
new standard in the industry, SXM airport is making
leaps and bounds towards its vision of offering passengers
an experience that will move them.”
The biometric border control portfolio aimed at
airports, airlines and immigration authorities, includes
solutions addressing a variety of business
scenarios which englobe security check-points, selfboarding
gates and automated border control gates.
“This is indeed just the beginning,” said Jean-Francois
Lennon, vice president for global business development
and sales at Vision-Box. “With the latest generation
of passenger identification technology in place,
Princess Juliana International Airport is embracing the
new era of aviation. In addition to the modernization
of passenger experience, SXM will soon be ready to
benefit from a game-changing asset made possible by a
single token approach using biometrics.”
Every second, millions of images are being captured
and processed by Vision-Box systems, installed right at
the heart of the most prestigious organizations, who
trust the biometric identity and digital video management
solutions for their critical applications.
Covering the entire ID management life cycle,
Vision-Box also delivers to governments and issuing
authorities, solutions ranging from live biometric enrollment
stations, document verification kiosks and
digital document dispensers.
Starting with the process of identity enrollment,
covering the life cycle of a biometric identity document,
and finally assuring its verification and identification
towards the user, the company’s product
portfolio is linked together through a powerful service
platform, which orchestrates the trusted chain of
identity of the citizen. The solution portfolio enables
the implementation of advanced border management
systems, integrated with advanced digital video analytics
solutions, intelligent biometric and biographic
data management engines and danger management
functionalities.
Doesn’t it seem too good to be true? The company
has undergone rigorous testing and now operates in
more than 1,200 automated border control solutions,
in more than 70 international airports, and has more
than 3,000 electronic identity systems deployed across
the globe.
Not compromising security, I’m for the newest
technology that will speed people through all checkpoints
at international airports.
This article originally appeared in the November 2016 issue of Security Today.