Airport News

Airport News

risbane Airport claims to be leading the way with the trial of an innovative Digital Departure Card for international passengers. 

It says the innovation removes the age old necessity of handwriting the official ‘outgoing passenger card’ (Departure Card) required for immigration purposes.

Developed in-house with support from a number of partners, the new Digital Departure Card is built within the scope of the airport’s popular mobile App, giving passengers the ability to enter and save personal information for the Departure Card onto their mobile device prior to their arrival at the airport.

This 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 (as well as the profiles of other family members with permission) within the app so that they do not have to complete their personal information every time they travel internationally from Brisbane (BNE).

Julieanne Alroe, CEO and managing director of Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC), said close collaboration with external partners enabled the gateway to implement what it claims is a world first digital initiative.

“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,” she says.

“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.

“The result is an Australian if not a world first digital solution that will save time, streamline processing and help reduce anxiety associated with departure formalities, especially for non-English speaking travellers.”

Alexander Dreiling, associate professor and chair in airport innovation at QUT, said Creative Industries students were tasked with identifying a way in which the passenger experience could be improved.

“Filling out arrival and departure cards stood out as being a process that some people struggled with, particularly those who didn’t speak or read English,” he said.

“QUT students and staff were keen to take on this project and develop a solution to prototype stage.”