Orlando adds facial recognition to APC kiosks

Becomes first to meets CBP requirement for facial recognition for arriving passengers.

Orlando International Airport has upgraded its automated passport control (APC) kiosks to include facial recognition for arriving passengers.

The technology is part of a new requirement from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This requires that APC kiosks authenticate identity by matching people’s faces to the biometric record in their e-passport.

APC kiosks have become a regular feature at US airports over the past year. In June, the CBP updated the requirements for APC kiosks at US borders to include facial recognition capability and Orlando Airport is the first to put this in place.

APC kiosks have been a big success at airports and are playing an increasingly critical role in operations to manage international passenger volumes. Nearly all passengers arriving on international flights can now use APC kiosks at Boston, Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Orlando airports.

The APC kiosks at Orlando are supplied by SITA.

Paul Houghton, SITA President, Americas, said:

“More and more, passengers arriving in the USA have the opportunity to use automated kiosks to make their way through the customs and immigration checks. These kiosks are a welcome addition to arrival areas and have helped reduce lines by as much as 40%.

“Now, there is added security as the CBP requires facial biometrics to be matched to the e-passport being presented. Almost 500 million e-passports have been issued globally; these hold facial biometrics while some also contain fingerprints. Our SITA APC kiosks comply with all the latest requirements and help bolster more efficient security checks at the airports.”

Other US airports with APC kiosks include:

  • Atlanta (ATL)
  • Boston (BOS)
  • Dallas (DFW)
  • Denver (DEN)
  • JFK (JFK)
  • Los Angeles (LAX)
  • Miami (MIA)
  • Portland (PDX)
  • San Francisco (SFO)
  • San Diego (SAN)
  • Seattle (SEA)

N.B. Image credit: orlandoairports.net

Internet links

Orlando International (MCO)

SITA’s APC kiosks