Air transport communications and information technology specialist Sita is working with 1 000 airports and 70 governments around the world (as well as 40 locations in Africa) on the digitisation of their borders.
Speaking at a round-table session in Sandton on Tuesday, May 9, Director, Government and Industry Relations, Andy Smith, said the Switzerland-based organisation was currently looking at supporting growth of intra-Africa trade. Its current market of 1,2 billion African consumers is expected to rise to a potential 1,7bn by 2030.
Smith said Sita was looking at kickstarting digitisation of borders, including airports, in South Africa, as well as in Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania.
Such digital systems help protect countries against risks like terrorism, human trafficking, international crime, political instability, corruption and pandemics, while they boost tourism, trade, revenue protection and regional integration.
Sita previously worked with the South African government on seamless travel programmes for the 2010 Soccer World Cup to handle the large volumes of international travellers coming into the country, incorporating self-service kiosk technology, for example.
The organisation now is looking into border management solutions focusing on digitisation of processes for the Department of Home Affairs.
DG for Institutional Planning and Support at the department, Thulani Mavuso, recently revealed that plans to upgrade and expand infrastructure providing biometric passenger checks at certain ports of entry in South Africa had been earmarked in the country’s 2023/24 budget as part of a project labelled the Biometric Movement Control System.
Mavuso said the South African government planned to increase the number of ports of entry covered by the system from the current 34 to 72 by March 2024.
Smith said, by 2025, 75% of all global airlines were expected to invest in biometric identity passenger solutions, while 50% of airports were expected to use biometrics across all touchpoints. Digital travel credentials are expected to become key in international travel, incorporating digital passports according to ICAO standards.
