Brisbane Airport CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff has flagged Australian incoming passenger systems are too “cumbersome” to meet the demands of an expected 52 million passengers expected annually through their terminals ahead of the forthcoming Olympics in 2032.
As part of a Courier-Mail Future Brisbane series that advocates for a better city and region, de Graaff told the paper that biometric facial screening and contactless international to domestic baggage transfers are among the seamless border measures Brisbane Airport needs to meet passenger demand before 2032 and the expected 52 million passengers expected annually through their terminals by 2046.
“Based on what we currently have in place … we wouldn’t be able to accommodate things like major events, including the Olympics, because we just don’t have the capacity to process people in acceptable times,” he said.
Elsewhere, Singapore residents arriving and departing, and all foreign travellers departing, can clear immigration using just facial and iris biometrics at Changi Airport. Travellers can also use a QR code instead of presenting their passport to clear immigration.
“We’re working closely with other airports, with the airlines and with Border Force to introduce the technologies as soon as we can,” he said. “I’m not only talking about speeding up processes to make it more passenger friendly or customer friendly.
“It makes the border safer and more secure as well.
“So it’s a win, win, win.”
de Graaff said the first step to speeding up airport arrivals would be for the Australia Travel Declaration — a digital replacement for the orange incoming passenger card — to become accessible to passengers of all airlines, not just Qantas that is testing the ATD pilot program via its app.
Better technology will also reduce the need to recruit more border workforce staff.
“With more and more international cruising locations and terminals, they can’t continue to recruit people, they need to rely on technologies to enable their growth in international arrivals and departures into Australia,” he said.
A full rollout of the ATD will be considered after the pilot — which has no end date — and in consultation with Federal Government.
“As we prepare … to welcome the world to Brisbane for the 2032 Olympics, the ABF is striving to be innovative leaders at the border,” an ABF spokeswoman said. “This is the first of many steps planned to take us and the travelling community in that direction.”
de Graaff said Brisbane Airport was also working on final destination baggage labelling where international arrivals travelling on to elsewhere in Queensland could go directly to the domestic terminal without the need to collect their luggage.
“That would save obviously a lot of time, it would make people a lot more relaxed about the connection that Brisbane Airport, it would make the time it requires much more predictable, which would be a win, win, win, for everyone,” he told The Courier Mail.
