16 July 2018

Nice Côte d’Azur Airport. Biometric technology.

Automatic border e-Gates control

On Friday, 6 July, Nice Côte d’Azur Airport commissioned the first PARAFE eGates with facial recognition. IN Groupe, the world’s leading biometric identity specialist, has partnered with Gunnebo, the world’s leading provider of security solutions and services, to deliver these eGates with their latestgeneration biometric technology. By increasing security while streamlining the throughput of travellers at borders, this system, which is now operational, improves the satisfaction of all, and of passengers first and foremost. Sixteen eGates will be installed at Nice Airport at both arrivals and departures.

FACIAL RECOGNITION TO FACILITATE TRAVEL

To cope with the increase in traffic and the reinforcement of border controls, Nice Côte d’Azur Airport has made the decision to invest in innovative technology in the service of its passengers: terminals for automated identity checks via biometric recognition technology.

Dispositifs PARAFE avec reconnaissance faciale © IN Groupe - Aeroport Nice.

The airport has therefore established four PARAFE IN Groupe-Gunnebo eGates in all of the four border control areas, located at the non-Schengen departures and arrivals of each of its terminals. They will operate by means of a facial recognition system and will enable passengers from the Schengen area, holders of a new biometric passport, to reduce the time normally spent during manual checks. The new technology, which has just been approved by the French public service in charge of foreigners present in France (DGEF - Ministry of the Interior) will therefore significantly increase the control flow and reduce waiting times accordingly. As a first step, only one site, for departures from Terminal 2, will be accessible to passengers for a period of one month for operational tests. At the end of this period, the deployment will be extended to all other terminals, for both arrivals and departures.

Dominique Thillaud, chairman of the board of Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur:

"For Nice Côte d’Azur Airport, the challenge is clearly to reduce waiting time for our passenger controls, without any compromise on border security. This is an

objective we are pursuing jointly with the border police, whom i wish to thank for their involvement in the solution chosen as the most suitable: the one implemented by in Groupe and Gunnebo".

Dispositifs PARAFE avec reconnaissance faciale © IN Groupe - Aeroport Nice.

BORDER CROSSINGS SIMPLIFIED AND SECURED

AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL

As a member of the IATA (International Air Transport Association), IN Groupe has long considered how to provide a response that is both efficient and immediately operational to this issue. After being a forerunner with fingerprint eGates, IN Groupe has developed its own high-tech facial recognition solutions: an innovation co-designed with Gunnebo, which Nice Côte d’Azur Airport has been the first to adopt. As identity experts, IN Groupe are at the heart of the airport’s digital transformation.

The challenge of digital identity controls, be they a State or private system, is to maximize the level of security while offering the ease of use required by users everywhere and incorporating optimal data protection. A challenge that has been met by the integration of facial recognition in airport eGates. Developed by IN Groupe’s engineers, the PARAFE-compliant equipment speeds up identity checks at borders, while ensuring a very high level of security. Facial recognition compares the face of the traveller entering the eGate with the photo stored in the microprocessor of their biometric passport.

The result? Secure, fast and relevant control, since all biometric passports are theoretically usable by facial recognition systems.

Didier Trutt, Chairman and CEO of IN Groupe is delighted:

"In Groupe is proud to equip the 2nd busiest airport in France, in Nice, with this technology, natively developed for facial recognition. A new-generation technology that highlights In Groupe’s unique expertise in developing automatic identity control systems with the highest reliability level combined with rapid deployment (less than 5 months). We would like to thank Nice Côte d’Azur Airport for trusting the group’s know-how".

For its part, Gunnebo has implemented a modular and scalable concept that is highly flexible, both from the point of view of the integration of the different identification and authentication technologies, and also the overall design and ergonomics of the solution, the dual purpose being to optimize the fluidity of throughput and the comfort of travellers. A new generation of eGate, with a streamlined, transparent design, improves the passenger experience by integrating perfectly into the airport environment and reducing the effect of a “physical barrier”.

Nice Côte d’Azur Airport, the 2nd busiest airport in France, is thus a forerunner in introducing these fully automated and reliable new-generation border control systems that are now operational. Following the example of Nice, the airports of Lyon and Marseille – also equipped with automated passenger control systems at the borders made by IN Groupe and Gunnebo, but based on fingerprint biometrics – are considering an update of the system to facial recognition.

Michael Gass, General Manager of Gunnebo France, stated:

"We are very happy to have contributed to this innovative project initiated by Nice Côte d’Azur Airport. At Gunnebo, backed by expertise recognized in numerous international and national airports, we permanently adapt our solutions, in order to provide the best response to every stage of the traveller’s journey (passenger immigration forms (pif), boarding, border controls, and so on), the purpose always being to streamline throughput without compromising on safety and security. It is clear that this first accomplishment in facial recognition optimizes the border control process and opens up new prospects".

Text edited by Alisè Vitri

Source and Photo: Press Office Nice Côte d'Azur Airport, IN Groupe, Gunnebo.