Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has announced on 5th January 2021 that the e-Boarding Gates located at Terminal 1 are in operations.
Following the launch of e-Security Gates to the restricted area in 2018, HKIA has launched the e-Boarding gates as to provide passengers a touchless and seamless departure journey. These allow passengers a convenient and safe journey from kerb to gate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first batch of e-Boarding Gates are currently available at departure gate 10 to gate 36 of Terminal 1, while other gates will be equipped with the same function by phases. HKIA is one of the first airports in the world to introduce touchless boarding for international travellers at all frontal gates. Both the e-Security Gates and e-Boarding Gates are empowered by biometrics and touchless technologies. Passengers who have verified their documents and boarding passes by scanning their faces at the e-Security Gates can simply walk past the e-Boarding Gates to board a flight without having to show their documents again. The touchless procedure not only minimises touching of facility surfaces and people interaction under COVID-19, but also shortens the boarding time.
The application of e-Security Gates has also been extended to the passenger transit / transfer procedure to speed up and enhance the accuracy of document check.
In the meantime, trials of touchless lifts have also begun at HKIA. Sensors are installed on the panels inside and outside the lift. These sensors can detect hand movements and physically touching the buttons is not necessary. Currently, six touchless lifts are available at the airport and all 29 passenger lifts in the terminals will become touchless by the end of 2021.
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Credit: Hong Kong International Airport
