Travizory installs the world’s first health biometric corridor in Seychelles

Travizory Border Security has installed a cutting-edge biometric corridor for traveler 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, 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 travelers arriving by air.

The “biocorridor” identifies the individual traveller using facial recognition technology, checks their temperature and determines their classification for handling. Fully integrated with the Seychelles Islands Travel Authorization system, the biocorridor 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 authorized travelers. With a match time of less than one second per traveler, the new biocorridor screens an average of 30 travelers per minute for health risks. Leveraging this powerful tool, a full wide-body aircraft with 300 travelers can be processed in less than 10 minutes.

Travelers previously had to present their unique Travel Authorization 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 biocorridor verifies that each traveler matches an approved, valid Travel Authorization, and has successfully met all requirements for travel. As an additional line of defence, a thermal camera also captures individual travelers’ body temperature.

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

To guarantee COVID-19 safety, travelers 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 travelers don’t have to stop to be identified but they are identified while walking. . This maximizes flow of travelers 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. It’s one-of-a-kind health travel authorisation system has been delivering results for more than a year.

The installation of the biocorridor is the latest step in the Government of Seychelles’ digital transformation agenda.

Mr. Antony Derjacques, Seychelles Minister for Transport, said: “It is our intention to provide an unmatched customer travel experience 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 travelers, but, far more importantly, assure their health and safety during their journeys.”

Alan Renaud, Principal Secretary for Civil Aviation, said: “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 postCovid. 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 chievement for a small island State.”

A spokesperson at Seychelles Public Health Authority said: “The health bio corridor provides an excellent opportunity for the country to process travellers in a more efficient and secure manner. The Public Health Authority fully supports this initiative towards the prevention
and spread of infectious diseases like COVID 19, which is currently affecting travel around the world. We applaud Travizory for investing resources in making a good system even better. It is certainly a step forward in preventing disease spread and would like to encourage travellers to maintain safe practices at all times while traveling.”

Garry Albert, CEO, SCAA, said: “Seychelles International Airport is a pivotal port of entry for our visitors. Digitizing 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 organization 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.”

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

“Our biocorridor 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.”