BI eyes e-gates upgrade at international airports

The Bureau of Immigration logo is superimposed over the airport scene. INQUIRER.net FILES

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) plans to upgrade electronic gates (e-gates) at international airports to ease the screening process for passengers. Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said on Thursday this would include removing the scanning of boarding passes and integrating the data of airlines to connect with e-gates. The latter was prompted by complaints from passengers who could not use the e-gates because their flight details had yet to be incorporated into the system. Tansingco said the e-gates were also undergoing reconfiguration so that instead of printing a sticker to be attached to the passport, there would be an email acknowledging a passenger’s arrival. “This is the best practice that we are emulating from other countries,” he added. —JANE BAUTISTA