E-gates

What it is:

The eGates are an innovative technology, more and more widespread at the main international hubs, which allows your passport to be checked in a totally automated way. They ensure the highest levels of security controls, and decrease passenger waiting times, benefiting the overall quality of the travel experience.

How they work:

The traveller approaches an automatic gate and puts their open passport into the scanner, so that they can clear passport control. Then the gates use facial recognition technology to compare your face to the photograph recorded on the chip in your passport.

If the check is successful, the gate opens, if not the traveller will need to go to a control gate operated by a Boarder Officer.

From a more technical standpoint, the data and facial recognition of the passenger are checked instantly, because every machine is directly connected to the Interior Ministry database.

The equipment operates independently and within a few seconds it performs a series of checks to verify the authenticity and integrity of documents, analyses the facial and fingerprint bio-metric parameters (only for Italian passengers) and verifies that there are no reasons to impede transit.

The only conditions are that in order to use an eGate you need to have an electronic passport and be over 14. It is easily identifiable, just check that there is the appropriate chip symbol on the bottom of the front outer cover of the passport.

Thanks to a project implemented by Aeroporti di Roma, by the Public Security Department - Central Directorate of Immigration and Border Police and by the US Embassy in Italy in collaboration with ENAC and Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the electronic gates – which have thus far only been accessible to European citizens aged 14 and over – can now also be used by American citizens at the departure and the arrival. 

In addition to Americans, the e-gates are available to citizens of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Israel, Taiwan, Singapore and United Kingdom departing, arriving and transiting at Fiumicino.
 

A few figures:

• Leonardo da Vinci is the first Italian airport to have installed the new passport control equipment.
• Since installing the first example, in 2014, 22 million travellers have taken advantage of the new automated gates.
• One eGate alone is capable of processing thousands of passengers per day, with an average of about 20 seconds for each individual passenger control, resulting in reducing times compared to traditional controls by about 50%.