TNW pick of the week: Airlines to register for new border control system

By Hilka Birns THE Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has urged all airlines flying to South Africa to sign up as soon as possible for the new Advance Passenger Processing (APP) border control system currently being implemented for added security ahead of the FIFA World Cup. APP, a product of aviation IT specialist SITA, allows airlines to collect passenger data at check-in in their home countries and transmit this to South Africa before boarding. This allows the South African government to check its watch lists and give immediate thumbs up or down to passengers before take-off. If everything is in order, visitors do not have to go through immigration checks on arrival in South Africa, speeding up their arrival process and saving the government the expense of returning unauthorized visitors. Refer to TNW November 25 for more on this story. Other headlines to lookout for in this issue include: • BSP ZA freefall slows • Self service lags at OR Tambo • Millions lost to ‘inefficient’ aviation security