Halifax Airport Launches Iris Scanning

[R. A. Hettinga]

<http://www.news.gc.ca/cfmx/CCP/view/en/index.cfm?articleid=73249&>
    
 

 

Monday, Dec. 1, 2003
22:42 EST

Halifax International Airport launches CANPASS - Air

 

Halifax International Airport launches CANPASS - Air

Halifax, December 1, 2003... The CANPASS - Air program at Halifax
International Airport (HIA) was officially launched today.

Halifax is only the second international airport in Canada to implement the
iris-recognition technology used in CANPASS - Air. The CANPASS - Air
program allows the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) to manage risk
effectively. This program permits pre-approved travellers to clear customs
and immigration quickly and securely. It is a clear example of how the CCRA
and Citizenship and Immigration are working collaboratively to strengthen
our border and to protect the safety and security of Canadian citizens.

"CANPASS - Air showcases our commitment to modernizing, securing, and
streamlining the process for travellers," said Geoff Regan on behalf of the
Minister of National Revenue, Elinor Caplan. "It is another example of how
the CCRA implements programs that balance security with the free flow of
travellers."

In conjunction with other new technologies, CANPASS - Air checks clients
against a security system as if they were meeting an officer in person and
refers suspect clients for further inspection. Members of the program can
now pass through Vancouver and Halifax airports quickly and without
compromising security. CANPASS - Air members clear customs and immigration
by looking into a camera lens that recognizes the iris of their eyes as
proof of identity. Reducing the time it takes for interaction with trusted
clients allows Customs personnel to focus on people they don't know.

Any CANPASS - Air member can now travel through both HIA and Vancouver
International Airport, declare their goods, and pay duties and taxes at the
CANPASS - Air kiosks located in those airports.

CANPASS - Air kiosks are scheduled to open at other international airports
in Canada in the spring of 2004. The program has an annual membership fee
of $50 CDN.

The CCRA expects that the CANPASS - Air Program will be expanded into a
joint program with the United States and that it will be piloted at the
Macdonald-Cartier Airport in Ottawa.

CANPASS - Air enables the CCRA to work with trusted and known clients to
make their Customs experience quick and secure and allowing the focus to be
placed on higher-risk cases.


-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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