Varna and Bourgas Airports Implement Automated Border Control eGates to Improve Passenger Experience

16 Jan
2015

Bulgaria’s Varna and Burgas international airports have installed automated border control e-gates to help expedite the immigration process for e-passport holders.

The automated gates – vb i-match 5 e-gates supplied by Vision-Box – make use of facial recognition technology to verify the traveller’s identity. As for future developments, fingerprint will be activated to complement facial verification, making it the first multimodal biometric solution implemented in the Balkans. The associated contract is co-financed by the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior and EU, under Action 5 – “Establishing automated border control for EU citizens,” Annual Program 2012-2013 of the External Borders Fund.

“In modern airports like Varna and Burgas, facing constantly increasing flows at the border, it is imperative to embrace new technologies that concede the traveller more control and better convenience during his journey, while delivering the most efficient and effective tools to the border control authorities to increase their capacity,” explained Vision-Box’s Jean-François Lennon.

The e-gates can be used by e-passport holders who are aged 18 or over and are citizens of the European Union, European Economic Area or Switzerland.

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