Passenger Terminal Expo 2016, one of the largest and most
well-known airport-focussed events globally, took place in Cologne, Germany
last week. eu-LISA was invited to participate in a panel discussion on border
crossing in emergency situations along with representatives of the
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the UN Security Council and
also to provide a presentation detailing some outcomes of the Smart Borders
pilot. Both sessions were well attended and participants expressed strong
interest in the Agency’s current work and future possibilities for IT
development in the areas of migration and security.
Other sessions of interest at the event included those on
aviation and border security that included presentations on the US CBP and DHS
developments in the domain and Australia’s use of interactive API, a session on
biometrics and the role of IT in ensuring airport security going forward, a
panel discussion on the future of airports in which the problems created by
border control were heavily debated by participants from airports and a session
on Trends in Check-In and Self-Service at which concepts such as the Aruba
Happy Flow system were presented. The latter theme was particularly notable in
the associated technology expo. Companies including Vision Box, Gunnebo,
Magnetic and MODI demonstrated a variety of ABC systems, self-service gates and
kiosks and other similar devices. Others demonstrated biometric enrolment
solutions, document reader technologies and mobile apps for use in the airport
environment to facilitate travel. Although heavily debated throughout, the
preponderance of innovative and interesting devices and tools shown at the expo
suggested that technology will continue to play an increasing role in the
airport travel experience going forward.
