The Changing Shape of the Smart Border How overlapping technology cycles are reshaping border control Walk around a major border technology exhibition and you can see several generations of the solutions on show side by side. One stand may be demonstrating remote identity verification or a digital travel credential. Another may be showing how a…
ABC eGates will remain the most valuable automated equipment category, but biometric enrolment pods and totems are forecast to grow fastest as border agencies adopt a wider mix of automated and assisted processing. September 23rd 2026, 15:00 British Summer Time (BST) London. Border modernisation over the next decade will extend well beyond the installation of additional eGates,…
Can greater integration preserve an open airport eGate ecosystem? ASSA ABLOY’s proposed acquisition of Gunnebo Entrance Control is more significant for airports than a conventional expansion of its entrance control portfolio. Gunnebo gives the group an established global eGate platform, a substantial airport footprint and long-standing relationships with operators, authorities and systems integrators. Alongside HID,…
Last year, six months before the start of the on-off war in Iran that sent the price of Jet-A surging and made long-haul family travel ever more expensive, I was lucky enough to journey to Lima, Peru, spending the kids’ school holidays working from the culinary capital of the world. In addition to sampling lots…
Introduction Over the UK bank holiday weekend in April, I travelled to Luxembourg and experienced the EU’s European Union Entry/Exit System (EES) for the first time, with my entry and exit recorded electronically to enable real-time tracking of movements. This is something I have been taking note of with our new report, “Smart Borders 2026:…
Introduction With global passenger volumes continuing to rise, forecast to reach over 12 billion by 2030, an increase of 22% from 2025, airports face increasing operational pressures across every stage of the passenger journey. While significant investment has been made to streamline passenger processing through the integration of biometrics and automation, the systems responsible for…
The proposed €1.2 billion acquisition of IDEMIA’s Public Security (IPS) division by Amadeus IT Group marks a significant step in the continued convergence of travel technology and government border infrastructure. It is also one of the most consequential developments in the evolution of the airport and border technology ecosystem in recent years, following several other…
Walking the floor at PTE 2026 in London, several things stood out to me: the hustle and bustle of the event, the conversations happening around me, and, of course, the solutions on show that promise to reshape the passenger journey. However, one of the most striking aspects was the fragmented nature of the event. There…
Passenger Terminal World Expo felt as busy and productive as ever this year – a packed schedule of meetings, catch-ups and plenty of candid conversations across the ecosystem. What stood out wasn’t a single breakthrough, but a shift in mindset. For a sector that has traditionally operated in siloes – with border control, passenger processing,…
Introduction 2026 will act as a stress test for airports and border control infrastructure; rising passenger volumes, biometric capture mandates, expanding pre-approved traveller programmes, and contactless journey ambitions are colliding with legacy systems that were never designed for high-frequency, digital and biometric processing. With this, we see the industry’s response unfolding in a ‘three-speed’ timeline,…
Introduction With 11,791 biometric border control solutions deployed in airports globally, nations around the world continue to show an appetite in enhancing their border clearance processes through the deployment of automated and biometric technologies. Increasingly, regulations are being put into place that mandate the capture the biographic, biometric, and entry/exit data of travellers; highlighted by the recent introduction of the European Union’s EU Entry-Exit System (EU-EES), the full-scale launch of…
Introduction I see identity verification and selfie facial recognition as essential building blocks for air travel and border control. The adoption we see now is critical for the future capabilities of airlines, airports and border agencies, saving them time and money. Investment into remote enrolment capabilities and opportunities have graduated from smaller scale pilots to full-scale programmes and frameworks, and with this, a new era of passenger processing is upon us. Travellers are now…
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