Seychelles International Airport launches biometric corridor for ‘contactless’ travel screening Health screening completely digitized with cutting-edge technology |09 December 2021
The Ministry of Transport has announced the launch of a biometric corridor for health travel screening at Seychelles International Airport, becoming the second country in the world after the UAE to leverage walk-through biometrics at its borders, guaranteeing contactless and secure travel and an unmatched customer experience for all travellers arriving by air.
Fully integrated with the Seychelles Islands Travel Authorization system, the new ‘biocorridor’ checks temperatures, validates if each traveller matches an approved, valid authorisation through state-of-the-art facial recognition technology, and classifies travellers for handling based on pre-departure risk assessments.
Designed by border security firm Travizory, the biocorridor features state-of-the art cameras and AI-powered biometric engines to match travellers to Seychelles’ database of authorised travellers. With a match time of less than one second per traveller, the biocorridor screens an average of 30 travellers per minute, enabling a wide-body aircraft with 300 travellers to be processed in under 10 minutes.
Seychelles’ Minister for Transport Antony Derjacques said: “It is our intention to provide an unmatched customer travel experiences at all our ports of entry. With tourism levels soaring almost to 2019 levels, it is more vital than ever that we make use of technology, and that we implement products, and introduce processes that focus not only on fast screening of travellers, but, far more importantly, assure their health and safety during their journeys.”
Previously, travellers had to present their unique Travel Authorisation QR codes to health officers on arrival, either on a smartphone or on printed paper. With the installation of the new bio corridor, travellers can now simply walk through. Travellers will be directed straight to immigration, sent for medical examination, or sent for quarantine, based on pre-departure assessments.
To provide added security and peace of mind, travellers are able to keep their masks on at all times, without compromising accuracy or security, a reflection of the ministry’s commitment to continuous innovation and the state-of-the-art AI developed by Travizory.
Unlike existing biometric systems at many major airports, the Travizory system is also designed to match “on-the-go”, meaning travellers don’t have to stop to be identified but as they are walking. This maximises the flow of travellers, guaranteeing a seamless, secure and unrivaled transit experience, as travellers do not have to actively interact with the system.
In March 2021, Seychelles was one of the first countries to reopen fully to tourists regardless of vaccination status and has been a global success story for recovery of travel post-Covid.
The Seychelles’ one-of-a-kind health travel authorisation system has been delivering results for more than a year, and the biometric corridor is the latest in series of initiatives led by the Department of Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine to provide smart, contactless journeys at all ports of entry to the archipelago.
Just last month, in collaboration with Travizory, the department inducted a new Advance Passenger Information (API) system for inbound cruise ships, the first step towards a Single Maritime Window, where all ships will be able to submit documents electronically in advance of their entry to Port, to hugely enhance speed and efficiency of operations, as well as boost security.
Alan Renaud, principal secretary for Civil Aviation, said: “Our new state-of-the-art, contactless bio corridor is the latest in a series of initiatives we have introduced to make the transit experience through our ports of entry seamless and of unrivaled quality. Using your face as a passport will become a much more common feature of the travel experience in the future, a trend that can only accelerate as countries try to mitigate risk and limit human interaction post-Covid. We made the right choice with our partner, and I am incredibly proud that our archipelago is now the second country in the world to leverage biometrics on arrival – a historic achievement for a small island State.”
A spokesperson at Seychelles Public Health Authority said: “The health bio corridor provides an excellent opportunity for the country to process travellers in a more efficient and secure manner. The Public Health Authority fully supports this initiative towards the prevention and spread of infectious diseases like Covid- 19, which is currently affecting travel around the world. We applaud Travizory for investing resources in making a good system even better. It is certainly a step forward in preventing disease spread and would like to encourage travellers to maintain safe practices at all times while traveling.”
Garry Albert, chief executive of SCAA, said: “Seychelles International Airport is a pivotal port of entry for our visitors. Digitizing the entire arrival process and the installation of Travizory’s bio corridor is a major step in our continuous efforts to improve customer experience by embracing new technology as we pave the way to attain a five-star customer service.
“As the airport business grows, we need to operate effectively as an organisation and meet ICAO’s requirements. I am extremely proud of my team and the work that they have done in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, the Public Health Authority and Travizory and look forward to welcoming more passengers to our airport as we continue to upgrade and innovate.”
Renaud Irminger, Travizory CEO, said: “We are excited to install our state-of-the-art bio corridor in the Seychelles, to aid and improve Covid-screening on arrival. This groundbreaking technology will completely overhaul existing health processes – delivering a paperless and contactless experience for all travellers entering the country.
“Our bio corridor will guarantee greater security, more efficiency and a better experience for visitors to these beautiful islands. We look forward to rolling out more of our industry-leading technology for the Seychelles and playing our role in securing these islands against health risks and illegal activities.”
Press release from the Ministry of Transport