With the newly-installed immigration electronic gates at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, immigration processes could be done in as fast as 8 to 15 seconds.
Assistant secretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Esther Margaux “Mocha” Uson documented her experience at the new immigration system at NAIA.
Under the new system, passengers at NAIA need to have their passports registered and scanned at the e-gates then undergo a 3-to-5-second facial recognition process before the gates open.
In an online announcement, DOTr said the immigration gates will be checking the passports of passengers similar to other airports abroad.
Features of the e-gates include facial recognition, biometric scanning, bar code reading, and smart card recognition.
The agency said the gates will cut passport review to 15 seconds for first time registrants, and 8 seconds for those who have previously registered their passports at the gate.
A total of 11 immigration e-gates were installed in NAIA Terminals 1 and 3, while 10 other e-gates will be set up across five different airports in the country.
The installation of the e-gates was in response to the long queue of passengers in manual immigration booths which take around 45 seconds to 1 minute per passenger.
