Brisbane Airport is leading the way with the trial of an innovative Digital Departure Card for international passengers, removing the age old necessity of hand writing the official ‘outgoing passenger card’ (departure cCard) required for immigration purposes.
Developed in-house with support from a number of partners, the new Digital Departure Card is built within the scope of BNE’s popular mobile app, giving passengers the ability to enter and save personal information for the departure card onto their mobile device prior to their arrival at the airport.
This information is converted into a QR code that is scanned and printed at bespoke kiosks located in the international terminal. The personalised and custom printed card is then signed by the passenger and collected by Customs officers during the normal departure process.
Passengers are also able to save their profiles (as well as the profiles of other family members with permission) within the app so that they do not have to complete their personal information every time they travel internationally from BNE.
Julieanne Alroe, Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO and managing director, said close collaboration with external partners enabled BAC to implement world first digital initiatives. “We are fortunate to have a long association with Queensland University of Technology and it was a team of QUT interactive and visual design students who came up with the initial idea of digitalising the departure card process as part of a practical assessment.
“We are also very grateful of the enthusiastic support given by the Australian Customs Service and Department of Immigration and Border Protection, which both recognised the huge potential of this initiative.
“We saw great potential in the idea and with approval from the department to proceed, BAC provided the capital and resources to develop the program and necessary infrastructure, as well as ensuring all boxes were ticked from a practical, logistical and legislative perspective.
“The result is an Australian if not a world first digital solution that will save time, streamline processing and help reduce anxiety associated with departure formalities, especially for non-English speaking travellers,” Ms Alroe said.