Lynden Pindling International Airport’s Automated Passport Control (APC) system has officially gone live, allowing US-bound travelers to be processed up to four times faster.
Provided by Vancouver Airport Authority, BorderXpress APC is a self-service kiosk technology, which enables US and Canadian passport holders and other eligible travelers to complete a portion of the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) inspection process electronically, expediting the border clearance process. The new technology is currently only available in one other Caribbean airport – Aruba.
“APC will greatly improve our ability to process passengers through the airport. The demand for the destination continues to grow and with more than 3.2 million passengers traveling through LPIA on an annual basis, we want to ensure that their experience at our airport is a positive one,” explained Vernice Walkine, president & CEO at Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD). “Making the investment in 20 APC kiosks just makes sense from a passenger management perspective as the move will drastically reduce wait times in an area impacting more than 80% of our total airport traffic. The technology will benefit the destination for years to come.”
Additional passengers eligible to use the new technology include all US Lawful Permanent Residents and Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approved passport holders – international travelers from 38 countries not requiring US entry visas for stays of 90 days or less.
The new system does not require travelers to complete a paper US customs declaration form, as all questions are answered on the computer’s touch screen. Travelers simply follow the on-screen instructions to scan their passport, answer the customs declaration questions, have their photo taken and receive a confirmation receipt, which they then show to a CBP officer to finalize processing.
Six new workers were also hired by NAD as APC Ambassadors to assist travelers with the use of the kiosks. The new technology required extensive training for NAD’s IT Department on the installation and maintenance of the 20 BorderXpress APC kiosks, and five Document Verification Officer (DVO) podiums provided by Vancouver Airport Authority’s Innovative Travel Solutions team.
Paul Mewett, director, Innovative Travel Solutions at Vancouver Airport Authority will talk about the BorderXpress solution during his presentation ‘Self-service border solutions – no fee, no registration required!’ on Tuesday March 10 at Passenger Terminal Conference 2015. To register for the event click here.