Almost all nationalities can now use the Automated Passport Control e-gates at Las Vegas McCarran International.
Now, business or tourist visa holders, Mexican nationals with border crossing cards, and airline crew members will be able to use the kiosks upon arrival in the U.S.
The Nevada airport introduced the kiosks earlier this year and is now upgrading them to allow passengers from China, Colombia, India, Brazil, and Mexico to process themselves through the kiosks.
Passengers from those countries have the largest growing numbers of visitors to Las Vegas.
The upgrade increases eligibility from the previously established 38 “visa waiver” countries outlined by Customs and Border Protection to virtually all of McCarran’s international arrivals.
APC e-gates allow passengers to provide their travel document, biometric data and customs declaration before speaking to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer. This increases efficiency and streamlines processes at the ports of entry by removing the administrative responsibility for a CBP officer to scan a passenger’s documents.
The APC kiosks are supplied by SITA. Beyond extending eligibility to a greater number of passengers , the kiosks feature enhanced embedded video, making it simpler and more intuitive for first-time users.
Rosemary Vassiliadis, Clark County Director of Aviation, said:
“McCarran welcomed nearly 43 million travelers in 2014 – the most since 2008 – with much of that growth coming from outside the U.S. We expect the volume of international travel will continue to rise, and offering the speed and convenience of SITA’s APC self-service kiosks for passport processing to a greater number of travelers will allow us to accommodate that growth while continuing to deliver an exceptional guest experience.”
N.B. Image credit: mccarran.com
