Brisbane Airport launches trial of Digital Departure Cards

Brisbane Airport has announced the trial of Australia’s first Digital Departure Card for international passengers.

The introduction could remove the need to hand write the ‘outgoing passenger card’ or Departure Card needed for immigration purposes.

The trial departure card is built within the airports existing mobile App, giving passengers the ability to enter and save personal information prior to their arrival at the airport. The information is converted into a QR code that is scanned and printed at bespoke kiosks located in the International Terminal. The personalised and custom printed card is then signed by the passenger and collected by Customs officers during the normal departure process. Passengers are also able to save their profiles on the App so it is not necessary to add information every time when travelling internationally from the airport.

Julieanne Alroe, Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) CEO and Managing Director, said “We are fortunate to have a long association with Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and it was a team of QUT Interactive and Visual Design students who came up with the initial idea of digitalising the Departure Card process as part of a practical assessment.

“We are also very grateful of the enthusiastic support given by the Australian Customs Service and Department of Immigration and Border Protection, which both recognised the huge potential of this initiative.

“We saw great potential in the idea and with approval from the Department to proceed, BAC provided the capital and resources to develop the program and necessary infrastructure, as well as ensuring all boxes were ticked from a practical, logistical and legislative perspective.”

On successful completion of the trial, an assessment of performance will be made. The Digital Departure Cards will then be refined and implemented on a larger scale.