Bangalore Airport starts trials for automated e-gates

As part of its ongoing effort to offer passengers a seamless travel experience, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) announced the introduction of automated E-Gates at KIAB that has been implemented on a trial basis at the Domestic pre-embarkation security check areas. To pass through this gate passengers can flash their 2D barcoded paper or mobile boarding pass at the e-Gate, which opens automatically upon verifying the validity. The relevant details are also displayed on the associated screen inbuilt into the e-gate. The passengers proceed for the mandatory security check and thereafter, enter the Security Hold Area (SHA). The e-Gate effectively eliminates the need for a manual security stamp on the boarding pass and CCTV Cameras have been deployed for additional security measure. Once passengers cross the e-Gate, they do not produce their boarding pass again until boarding begins.

This is being deployed on selected flights only for one lane and will progressively expand in scope subject to mandatory government clearances. The E-Gate unit has been provided by KABA, Germany, one of the leading providers of innovative access solutions for the air transport industry.

G V Sanjay Reddy, Managing Director, BIAL, said, “Bengaluru is a great location for us to pioneer new technology initiatives, with a traveler who is IT-savvy, young and excited about independent processes. The intent is to provide all passengers services that define the technological prowess and is a reflection of the city the airport is in. The e-Gate is a definite step towards a fully automated and seamless passenger flow. As we grow beyond 15 million passengers annually, we are thankful to MOCA, BCAS and CISF for their collaboration to effectively bring this technology trial to KIAB.”

Passengers can now take control of their passage through the security checkpoint, reducing stress, errors or inconsistencies, and improving their experience. As traffic at KIAB grows steadily, such measures to automate processes will enable more efficient passenger flow. The removal of manual stamping and enabling of E-boarding is a step taken forward to automate the security environment at airports thereby ensuring better compliance with security protocol.

As an airport that has several case studies to its credit, the automated e-Gate is another example of the airport setting benchmarks in introducing pioneering IT initiatives. The airport recently also implemented the Mobile boarding pass trial for travelers that facilitates them to enter the airport, clear security and proceed to board their respective flights, by displaying their mobile boarding pass on their smartphone devices.