Hong Kong International Airport has added a self-service departure for passengers starting Tuesday, October 10.
The airport uses a biometric system called Smart Departure, which operates on facial recognition to authenticate the identity of outgoing passengers. Before the new departure service can be used, passengers have to arrive at the airport first to record their photo on the passport.
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Once the photo is saved, passengers leaving the city can try the self-service departure service to check-in. The machine will verify the identity of the departing passenger based on the saved passport photo during arrival.
In a news release on Monday, Hong Kong's Immigration Department said Smart Departure "provide greater travel convenience" and improve the "effectiveness of immigration control".
It notes that qualified passengers will be given landing slips upon arrival that have the Smart Departure logo. They can perform the self-service departure clearance at the Smart Departure e-channels at the airport.
Qualified travellers are those aged 11 or above and hold valid electronic travel documents compliant with the International Civil Aviation Organisations' prerequisites and issued by countries approved by the Immigration Department.
