Mexico Launches Biometric Check-in at 3 Busy Airports

Three of Mexico’s busiest airports have installed the first digital biometric check-in kiosks in the country.

Last month, Flora Patricia Martínez, a representative of the Ministry of the Interior, inaugurated 100 kiosks at the Mexico City, Cancun and Los Cabos airports that will serve to streamline the reception of the 48,000 passengers they receive each day.

The head of the Ministry of Communications and Transportation (SCT), Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, said that these devices provide both national and international tourists a faster, more comfortable and modern way to enter the country.

He said that of the 100 kiosks installed, 40 were distributed to the two terminals at the International Airport in Mexico City, 40 were installed in Cancun and 20 more in Los Cabos. These airports, he said, account for 75% of the arrival by air of tourists to the country.

The kiosks work with biometric data and the information airlines use to check-in passengers. While the machines are biometric, they do have the ability to read documents as well. The kiosks also offer seven language options, as well as accessibility for people with different disabilities.

The automated registration of passengers expedites the immigration procedures, cutting the time in half. Airport officials say travelers using the biometric kiosks can now be checked in within two and-a-half minutes.

Mexico’s Minister of Tourism, Enrique de la Madrid, said that this is just the beginning for the automated registration of arriving air passengers. Plans are already underway to install more kiosks in other busy airports. “It does not make sense to continue investing in more immigration booths and agents at airports when immigration procedures can be streamlined in this way,” he said.

Source: Mexico News Today