World’s first health biometric corridor welcomed at Seychelles Airport

Travizory Border Security has installed a cutting-edge biometric corridor for traveller screening in the Republic of Seychelles, to guarantee contactless and secure travel for all air arrivals. The launch of a biometric corridor for health travel screening at Seychelles International Airport (SEZ), makes the Seychelles only the second country in the world after the UAE, and first in Africa, to leverage walk-through biometrics at its borders, guaranteeing contactless and secure travel and an unmatched customer experience for all travellers arriving by air.

The ‘bio-corridor’ identifies the individual traveller using facial recognition technology, checks their temperature and determines their classification for handling. Fully integrated with the Seychelles Islands Travel Authorisation system, the bio-corridor validates whether the traveler has submitted required health documentation, and has been authorized for travel by Seychelles Authorities. 

Designed by border security firm Travizory, the bio-corridor features state-of-the art cameras and AI-powered biometric engines to match travelers to Seychelles’ database of authorised travellers. With a match time of less than one second per traveller, the new bio corridor screens an average of 30 travellers per minute for health risks. Leveraging this powerful tool, a full wide-body aircraft with 300 travellers can be processed in less than 10 minutes. 

Travellers previously had to present their unique Travel Authorisation QR code on their smartphone or printed paper. Following the installation of the bio-corridor, travelers no longer need to retrieve their TA and can simply walk through. Using facial biometric technology, the bio-corridor verifies that each traveller matches an approved, valid Travel Authorisation, and has successfully met all requirements for travel. As an additional line of defence, a thermal camera also captures individual travellers’ body temperature. 

Fully integrated with the Seychelles Authorities database, the system flags to the health officer on duty how each traveller has been categorised, based on the risk assessment conducted pre-departure. Travellers may be directed straight to immigration, sent for medical examination, or sent for quarantine.  

 Credit: Travizory

To guarantee COVID-19 safety, travellers are able to keep their masks on at all times, without compromising accuracy or security. Unlike existing biometric systems in major airports, the Travizory system is designed to match ‘on-the-go’, meaning that travellers don’t have to stop to be identified but they are identified while walking. This maximises flow of travellers and guarantees a seamless travel experience, as travelers do not have to actively interact with the system while in transit. 

Seychelles was one of the first countries to reopen fully to tourists, regardless of vaccination status in early 2021 and has been a success story for recovery of travel post-COVID-19. It’s one-of-a-kind health travel authorisation system has been delivering results for more than a year. 

The installation of the bio-corridor is the latest step in the Government of Seychelles’ digital transformation agenda. 

Antony Derjacques, Seychelles Minister for Transport said: “It is our intention to provide an unmatched customer travel experiences at all our ports of entry. With tourism levels soaring almost to 2019 levels, it is more vital than ever that we make use of technology, and that we implement products, and introduce processes, that focus not only on fast screening of travellers, but, far more importantly, assure their health and safety during their journeys.” 

“We are excited to install our state-of-the-art bio-corridor in the Seychelles, to aid and improve COVID-screening on arrival,” commented Renaud Irminger, Travizory CEO. “This groundbreaking technology will completely overhaul existing Health processes – delivering a paperless and contactless experience for all travelers entering the country. 

“Our bio-corridor will guarantee greater security, more efficiency and a better experience for visitors to these beautiful islands. We look forward to rolling out more of our industry-leading technology for the Seychelles and playing our role in securing these islands against health risks and illegal activities.”

Alan Renaud, Principal Secretary for Civil Aviation added: “Our new state-of-the-art, contactless bio-corridor is the latest in a series of initiatives we have introduced to make the transit experience through our ports of entry, seamless, and of unrivaled quality. Using your face as a passport will become a much more common feature of the travel experience in the future, a trend that can only accelerate as countries try to mitigate risk and limit human interaction post-COVID-19. We made the right choice with our partner, and I am incredibly proud that our archipelago is now the second country in the world to leverage biometrics on arrival– a historic achievement for a small island State.” 

Garry Albert, CEO, SCAA said: “Seychelles International Airport is a pivotal port of entry for our visitors. Digitising the entire arrival process, and the installation of Travizory’s bio corridor is a major step in our continuous efforts to improve customer experience by embracing new technology as we pave the way to attain a five-star customer service.

“As the airport business grows, we need to operate effectively as an organisation and meet ICAO’s requirements. I am extremely proud of my team and the work that they have done in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, the Public Health Authority, and Travizory and look forward to welcoming more passengers to our airport as we continue to upgrade and innovate.”