News

Passport kiosks speed up lines, study says

March 14, 2014

Getting through customs and into the country goes faster with passport kiosks, according to a recent survey of government wait times. USA Today reported that average wait times at New York JFK's Terminal 4 were more than halved after 40 passport kiosks were installed, according to a survey by Global Gateway Alliance, a group that advocates for New York airports.

According to USA Today:

The average wait dropped to 17 minutes from 36 minutes, according to the survey. The waits also dropped during busy times, when eight or more flights arrived at the same time, when the average wait dropped to 29 minutes, according to the survey.

"It's very user friendly," said Tony Gugliotta, senior vice president for business development at Vancouver airport, which developed one version of kiosk used at JFK and other airports. "It's been a dramatic improvement in every airport."

The reduction came even as 300,000 more passengers arrived from abroad at JFK during the past year, according to the survey. Another 16 kiosks were installed in Terminal 1 in January, where average waits have dropped 3 minutes.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has permitted domestic international airports to install the passport-checking kiosks to scan the passports of citizens and check Customs declarations. The traveler then takes a receipt from the kiosk to present to a Customs officer for confirmation, speeding up the processing time.