NEW biometric immigration eGates have been installed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in phases starting December, as part of ongoing efforts to improve passenger processing.
This was announced by the New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC) President Ramon S. Ang, who said that the eGates, a global travel-technology provider powered by Amadeus and to be operated by the Bureau of Immigration (BI), form part of an automated border-control system using passport-scanning and facial-recognition technology to reduce wait times and improve throughput.
“Our goal is to make each part of the airport experience more comfortable for passengers “hese eGates will help reduce bottlenecks at immigration and support the broader improvements we have been introducing across NAIA,” Ang said.
It was learned from NNIC general manager Lito Alvarez that the said new eGates are deployed in Terminals 1 and 3, NAIA’s international terminals, where immigration checks are required and that the first phase is scheduled to go live starting December 2025, with full deployment expected early next year.
Alvarez said the project combines NNIC funding with BI-provided operational components, allowing the eGates to be introduced alongside NAIA’s ongoing upgrades.
Once activated, the system will work alongside the biometric passenger touchpoints that NNIC has been rolling out across check-in, security screening, and boarding, said Alvarez, adding that the introduction of automated systems is a key step in supporting efficient passenger flow as travel volumes continue to increase.
NAIA, he said, processed over 50 million passengers last year, surpassing its original design capacity.
