Arriving into Sydney International Airport recently, I found the familiar passport scanning machines that give you a little credit card-sized chit replaced with banks of facial recognition devices that print a slip of paper with your photo on it to be taken to another gate for facial scanning before exiting. But the scenes travellers were met with was nothing short of pandemonium. There was little signage, hundreds of people had no idea what they were meant to do, and the whole shemozzle was being handled by two shouting Border Force officers trying to give people instructions.
The main problem was that there were only about 12 machines and one of them broke down before my eyes The queues stretched back to the horizon. To complete the farce, the old card machines were still operating, so travellers were turning up to the second gate only to be told that they had to line up again. It was a perfect example of how not to introduce a new system.
Ross MacPherson, Seaforth, NSW EDITOR’S NOTE: According to Border Force, the new “Generation 3” scanners have been fully rolled out at all of Australia’s major international airports, with the exception of Sydney, where the rollout is set to be completed by mid-2024. Border Force claims the new scanners will provide “an improved experience for travellers entering Australia” with facial recognition replacing the need for tickets. Perhaps this will be the case after they are fully implemented.
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