Kochi: The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) at Nedumbassery is set to become the second airport in India to implement the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)’s prestigious Trusted Traveller Programme, facilitating a seamless immigration process through self-authentication at specially designed smart gates at immigration counters.
CIAL has begun an infrastructure makeover at the immigration area, dedicating eight lanes to biometric e-gates, enabling international travellers to complete the immigration process by themselves in 20 seconds. This state-of-the-art facility will be launched by August 2024.
The MHA’s Fast Track Immigration – Trusted Travellers’ (FTI-TTP) programme aims to expedite the immigration clearance for eligible Indian Nationals and Foreign Nationals holding OCI cards. Applicants must complete a one-time registration process, on the MHA portal, upload necessary documents, and enrol biometrics (fingerprint and face image) at the Foreigner’s Regional Registration Office (FRRO) or help desks set up in the immigration area. Upon successful validation through mobile OTP, travellers can use the smart gates, bypassing long queues at the departure/arrival immigration counters by self-scanning their passports and using the face recognition system. This eliminates the need for human interaction or fact-checking during immigration.
The Bureau of Immigration at Cochin International Airport has already established an enrolment facility at the FRRO office within Kochi Airport premises and help desks at the immigration area.
S Suhas, MD of CIAL said, “Implementing FTI-TTP at CIAL’s emigration counter will ensure a fast, safe, and seamless process. The biometric authentication process will reduce the immigration verification process Time from 4 minutes to just 20 seconds.”
CIAL, the fourth busiest airport in India for international passenger traffic, handles 10 million passengers and 70,200 air traffic movements annually. The airport has recently implemented the Digiyatra facility, developed by its in-house IT team, and has planned several modernization projects, including the Perimeter Intrusion Detection System, to be commissioned next month. The fast-track immigration gates will be deployed this week, with testing starting on Monday to be followed by the official launch by August 2024.