touchless, paperless kiosks<\/a> first deployed in 2022 and fully launched last year, which confirm a traveler’s identity with a quick photo; there’s often no need to even pull out a passport.<\/p>\nTalking with CBP on Monday, I pointed out that, on many of my recent Global Entry experiences, I’ve barely even stopped walking<\/em>, because the process is so fast.<\/p>\n\nSEAN CUDAHY\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n“The portals are great,” Blackmer acknowledged. “But the app will be a foundation for, potentially, other travel initiatives that we can do.”<\/p>\n
Indeed, the app may not seem like much of a shortcut right now (though the agency insists it is, already, for families and other large groups). But at CBP, it’s viewed as a critical piece of the future of Global Entry.<\/p>\n\nSEAN CUDAHY\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe e-gates technology planned for Dulles is a key example of how the app will play into future innovation. So is “smart queuing” technology that, Blackmer says, CBP is “close” to moving forward with.<\/p>\n
The latter innovation would help the agency sort travelers into a wider array of lanes to try and speed up the process: By analyzing information a member submits through the Global Entry app, a member would be directed to a specific lane based on the complexity of their situation.<\/p>\n
For instance, someone who needs to talk with an officer about an item they’re declaring at customs might go to one lane, while a member with no declaration might be able to go through another. Even with Global Entry’s speed today, such situations can still cause bottlenecks.<\/p>\n\nSEAN CUDAHY\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n“Based on that information, it will tell you which lane to show up to,” Blackmer said. “For people who don’t have anything, you’re not waiting behind that someone who … needs to spend a minute or two with that officer.”<\/p>\n
Could kiosks someday be a thing of the past?<\/h2>\n Again, the e-gates test planned for Dulles later this year is just that \u2014 a heavily planned experiment the agency is carrying out through collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security’s research and development arm.<\/p>\n
CBP tested similar technology at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) a few years ago, but bottlenecks ensued when complications caused the automatic gates to not open for some travelers. The agency believes the upcoming pilot program’s integration with the Global Entry app will prevent such snafus.<\/p>\n
It’s also worth noting that though the technology is new to the U.S., similar concepts are used elsewhere in the world, from Canada to Europe.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Travel Association last year publicly implored the U.S. government to increase its agencies’ use of biometrics at airport security and customs facilities, arguing the nation’s airports have fallen behind others abroad.<\/p>\n
Still, it’s clear change is abound for the Global Entry program, owing to technological improvements that, in the coming years, might make even these brand-new kiosks all but a thing of the past, Blackmer said, standing in the Dulles customs hall.<\/p>\n
“These are still going to be around in numbers for the short term \u2014 we just bought them \u2014 for five years, at least,” Blackmer said, motioning to the less-than-2-year-old devices.<\/p>\n\nSEAN CUDAHY\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAnd the agency will always need some kiosks, for travelers who don’t have a smartphone or aren’t comfortable with the technology.<\/p>\n
But make no mistake: CBP sees the app as the future of Global Entry.<\/p>\n
“One day,” Blackmer said, “these [kiosks] are going to be the backup, and 95%, 99% of people will be using the app.”<\/p>\n
Related reading:<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dulles International Airport (IAD) outside Washington, D.C., is set to test first-in-the-nation technology for Global Entry, allowing certain travelers to pass through customs without ever interacting with \u2014 or even passing by \u2014 a human officer. In the coming months, Dulles plans to launch a pilot program testing the use of so-called e-gates at customs. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":87285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-87284","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-travel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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