Overview: On July 14, industry media outlet CIOME reported that Singapore Changi Airport has achieved AI-powered immigration clearance in approximately 10 seconds. The report stated that this move "marks the beginning of a new era for the aviation industry," and airports around the world are now racing to follow suit. As "facial recognition replacing manual checks" transitions from a pilot program to a mainstream option, immigration clearance is becoming a new area of competition for hub airports seeking to improve passenger throughput.
In traditional immigration procedures, passengers need to present documents such as passports at the counter, and immigration officers manually verify the documents and compare passenger information, leading to unavoidable queues and waiting times during peak periods. According to CIOME, the AI-powered immigration system recently implemented at Changi Airport has reduced the time required for this process to approximately 10 seconds, with AI-driven biometric systems handling identity verification. The report suggests that this marks the beginning of a new phase in the immigration process for the aviation industry.
Passenger preferences are also aligning with this shift. According to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) 2026 Global Passenger Survey, 78% of passengers said they would be willing to share their biometric data if it allowed them to skip showing their passport or boarding pass at airport checkpoints; among these passengers, 75% prefer a one-time registration process followed by repeated use. In other words, “speed” is not just a goal pursued by airports; it is also a preference clearly expressed by passengers.
Biometric border control is no longer just an experimental project at a few airports. According to a report by SITA in 2025, cited by Smartvel, 54% of the airports surveyed have already implemented biometric technology in their border control operations, and another 45% of airports plan to adopt digital identity credentials issued by airlines or airports. This indicates that biometric technology in border control has moved beyond the question of "whether to use it" and has entered the stage of "how to use it effectively.
The passenger experience is also expanding. According to IATA’s 2026 Global Passenger Survey, 58% of passengers experienced biometric technology during their airport journeys in the past 12 months, up from 50% in 2025 and an increase of 24 percentage points compared to 2022; passenger satisfaction with this type of experience reached 87%. Additionally, according to industry analysis from ifactory, airports that have deployed biometric channels can increase boarding speed by approximately 40%, reduce the number of manual identity verifications by approximately 60%, and reduce the number of employees required at checkpoints by approximately 30%.
CIOME believes that industries worldwide are competing to develop these capabilities. According to the Pixidia Industry Guide, the European Union Entry/Exit System (EES) has been fully operational since April 10, 2026, and it registers biometric data for non-EU travelers at Schengen borders. Ifactory, citing IATA’s forecast, states that more than 500 airports will operate at least one biometric touchpoint, and over 120 airports will have end-to-end biometric corridors from curb to gate.
For hub airports, the speed of customs clearance, along with the route network and transfer experience, is becoming a new factor in attracting passengers and airlines. Changi Airport's recent achievement of 10-second customs clearance effectively highlights this factor: whoever can turn "going through customs" into "simply passing through" will have an added advantage in the competition for transit passengers.
Immigration control involves both national security and personal privacy, making it one of the most sensitive links in the airport chain. The significance of achieving customs clearance in 10 seconds lies not only in the speed but also in demonstrating that “high-sensitivity scenarios + AI” can be successfully implemented in real-world operations. The next challenges are data security, correction of misidentifications, and cross-border system interoperability. The extent to which these fundamental issues are addressed will determine whether “seamless passage” can evolve from a marketing slogan into a standard practice.