MONTEGO BAY, St James — Operator of Sangster International Airport (SIA) MBJ Airports Ltd is planning to roll out the use of biometric technology for outgoing passengers in 2025.

According to MBJ Ltd CEO Shane Munroe, it is all about reducing wait time for the millions of passengers who pass through the busy airport each year.

“We are going to introduce biometrics on departures. The check-in on mobile devices already exists but then we are expanding the ability of persons to also enrol using biometrics used with mobile devices for them to enrol at the self-service kiosks,” he told the annual MBJ airport forum last Tuesday.

If successfully implemented, the move will come about two years after SIA began using the technology for incoming passengers. The idea of introducing biometric technology took on added life in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hammered home the importance of minimising human contact during some stages of the travel experience.

Munroe pointed to the benefit it provides in shortening the amount of time passengers spend in the airport. He has seen it work for arriving passengers and the hope is that there will be similar gains when it is expanded to include those leaving.

“The whole goal of this project is to speed up the processing of passengers and to reduce wait times. That’s always the key metric for us: queues and wait times; how can we make the whole process seamless and have persons spending less wait time in a queue,” he explained.

While Munroe did not provide a specific date for when biometrics would be used to process departing passengers, a source with knowledge of the issue told the Jamaica Observer it would likely be early next year.

The MBJ Ltd CEO did provide insight into some aspects of how it will be incorporated into existing processes.

“There will be e-gates at security which replaces that passport control function; again biometric boarding at the gates,” he stated.

Munroe also told the gathering that passenger luggage will get improved treatment, which will also save time.

“It will allow them to do self-bag drops, rather than going to a check-in agent. We are working with some key airline partners here on this pilot project and that equipment should be arriving pretty shortly,” he said.

“That should allow passengers who choose to go through that process to then drop their bags with a dedicated machine for that,” added Munroe.

Those who wish to do the traditional check-in of luggage have not been left out. According to Munroe, they recently added more counter space in the departure terminal.

“We recently replaced our check-in counters, so we have 20 per cent more check-in counters this year than the same time last year,” he said.

SIA has been undergoing a US$200-million multifaceted upgrade since 2022. During Tuesday’s event Munroe provided an update on other aspects of the work being done.

“The air/sea lounge concept that we had for some time is now a reality, we are just about finishing this project off,” he said.

“Traditionally these passengers were processed in the arrivals corridor and if we can imagine several wide-body aircraft coming in at the same time, sometimes there are six on the ground. We’re talking hundreds of people in arrivals during the winter season, causing congestion,” he explained.

He anticipates that the purpose-built space for passengers seeking to get on cruise ships will be a major help in easing that bottleneck.

“Going forward, in the next few days, this is the area that those passengers will be processed. They’ll enter the area from the arrivals ramp, processed by immigration and customs, they’ll be able to exit out to buses that meet them and carry them directly to the cruise ship pier in Montego Bay,” Munroe explained.

The improvements extend well beyond SIA.

There will be a new road leading into the airport from Godfrey Dyer Boulevard, in the vicinity of Summit Police Station, which should ease some of the traffic that now has to be navigated by people entering and exiting the area.

“We will have a new intersection at Godfrey Dyer Boulevard near where some of our car rentals operate and this will bring you from Godfrey Dyer Boulevard to an area near the fuel farm and further down we have cargo. This road will bring you back to departure and to arrivals,” Munroe said.

“The goal of this project is to filter off traffic that normally has to make its way down to the main roundabout, outside of the airport, bring them into the airport earlier or to exit,” he continued.
The goal is to complete this road in 2025.

Munroe also revealed that there will once again be a gas station at the airport. The one that was there had to be relocated to accommodate the ongoing upgrades.

“We have awarded a licence for a new service station which will be established in that area,” the MBJ Ltd CEO assured.

He said other changes to come include relocation of the car rental and Knutsford Express operations along with the addition of fully automated car parks.

The upgrades are expected to continue over the next few years.