Passengers at international airports in Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sarajevo, Mostar and Banja Luka, should soon receive the option of electronic travel document control (so-called e-gate), which will significantly speed up the border crossing procedure and reduce congestion at airports.
As it was told to Fena news agency by Sarajevo International Airport, the project was initiated by the Agency for Identification Documents, Records and Data Exchange of BiH (IDDEEA), and a working meeting was held in Banja Luka in the previous period, which was also attended by representatives of the BiH Border Police, BHANSA and the international airports of Sarajevo, Mostar and Banja Luka.
The topic of the meeting was “Introduction of automated border control systems – ABC or e-Gate”, which includes the control of travel documents, i.e. passports. The technical aspects of the project were presented, and it was agreed to form teams that will work on the development of a pilot project and the preparation of an application for funding from European Union funds.
“According to the agreed responsibilities, Sarajevo Airport will provide all technical prerequisites for the installation of equipment, including installation and adaptation of space, while the procurement and integration of devices with the IDDEEA system will be the responsibility of the BiH Border Police,” Sarajevo Airport states.
The Airport Management emphasizes that increasing passenger throughput and reducing congestion is their strategic interest, and will, in accordance with priorities and available funds, also consider the possibility of co-financing the purchase of the device.
“E-gate devices would initially be available to citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and later their expansion to foreign citizens is expected. Passing through such a system takes between 15 and 30 seconds, while classic passport control can take several minutes, especially during peak times. This not only reduces queues, but also relieves the work of border officers, who can focus on more complex security checks,” Sarajevo Airport adds.
Automated passport control has long been standard at major European airports such as Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam, where thousands of passengers use e-gates every day to speed up border crossings. In the region, such systems are already in operation at Zagreb Airport, and a similar solution has been introduced in Belgrade, where domestic citizens and passengers from EU countries can quickly complete the control.
By introducing this system, Bosnia and Herzegovina is taking an important step towards harmonization with EU practices and the process of digitalization of public services. This is particularly important in the context of European integration, as raising safety and technical standards in air traffic is among the requirements that BiH must meet on its path to EU membership.
Statistics further support the need for modernization. Sarajevo International Airport alone, in the first seven months of this year, recorded more than 1.2 million transported passengers, while Banja Luka Airport and Mostar Airport are recording continuous growth, especially after the introduction of new routes and the arrival of low-cost companies.
Sarajevo Airport emphasizes that all technological improvements are of great importance for development and competitiveness in the regional market. With this project, BiH could significantly improve the international image of its airports, especially at a time when the number of passengers is growing, and expectations regarding the speed and quality of services are becoming higher.
Automation, they say, not only saves passengers time, but also represents a guarantee that security standards will be raised to a higher level. They remind that they recently put into operation a new system of automatic gates for ticket control, which has already enabled faster passage of passengers to passport and security control, reduced crowds and improved the overall travel experience. The introduction of the e-gate system for passports would, they assess, be a logical continuation of this modernization process.
In practice, automated passport control represents a double benefit, making travel easier for passengers, while at the same time strengthening the security system because it is integrated with databases and modern methods of identity verification.
