MONTEGO BAY, St James — Shane Munroe, the chief executive officer (CEO) at MBJ Airports Limited, operator of Sangster International Airport, says consideration is being given to introducing a biometric system among other measures aimed at reducing processing time.

The push to roll out the technology that will facilitate a more seamless journey for travellers is aimed at complementing expansion work being carried out at the airport to deal with passenger growth.

Other systems currently being worked on are a mobile boarding pass, the rolling out of more kiosks, and the piloting of an off-site checking to facilitate cruise ship transfers where passengers can check in at the cruise ship pier before getting to the airport.

“Now, with COVID-19, there is a greater challenge for us now is to introduce technology. Even biometric – that is certainly the way of the future and that we have started planning. Biometric will be introduced in the passenger’s journey,” disclosed Munroe.

Munroe said it could take up to two years before the technology is introduced at the airport.

“I would say that we are probably about 12 to 24 months away, and there is a lot of integration that is required and transition of other partners in that process. These partners are the airlines; we have to work closely with the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA), but for us, this is one of our major initiatives,” stated Munroe.

When asked about legal approval, the CEO responded: There will always be legal issues to deal with, but this is something that’s proven in other destinations. Most of our passengers are international, and in those jurisdictions, biometric passports are already widely utilised. So, we see no issues with that being implemented here.”

Munroe then explained how biometric technology works.

“It is like e-gates [electronic gates] so, you can present your boarding pass, and it automatically lets you through. There is biometric for facial recognition. There is integration with the airline’s system, the border management system for immigration, and it can go all the way for you to board your flight,” he explained.

The CEO said the intent is to introduce the system on a phased basis with the first in the arrival area in conjunction with PICA. The system will be implemented within the departure area in the second phase.

“There will be a pilot phase first, and then you scale up as people adapt. A big part of that is the buy-in and getting people to use the new system,” he stated.

When asked about the possibility of job loss, Munroe argued that a trade-off is not expected, as the technology will be used to aid human functions.

“We have seen kiosks implemented here, and it didn’t impact on job losses. We now have 50 check-in kiosks, and on the immigration side, there are now 40 kiosks there. So there are always other activities in the process that staff will now be more focused on,” the CEO continued.

The human processes that the technology is expected to aid in the arrival area are carried out by PICA and the Jamaican Customs Agency (JCA).