Success in the digital travel credential test for border crossing in Aruba 

13-08-23

The test of a digital travel credential for border crossing in Aruba is being called a success and prompting those involved – SITA, Indicio and the government of Aruba – to move to the next step of development.

The pilot in April allowed participating travelers to download an app to house their passport data in digital form, enabling them to be cleared to enter Aruba before leaving their departure city and eliminating the need to show a passport upon arrival in the country. 

The test was relatively small, taking place over two weeks with 24 travelers arriving from the United States and Canada.

But SITA senior vice president for border management Jeremy Springall said it was enough to validate the benefits of a digital travel credential for travelers and for the destination.

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Springall said because the app-based credential pulls the majority of the necessary data from the passport chip, it sped up the process for travelers “by about 90%,” while also providing higher quality data for risk assessment to Aruba’s border authorities. In addition, because the credential is based on a decentralized, blockchain-based system, implementation was very efficient.

“There’s not some big central system that needs to be developed,” Springall said.

“We have a very straightforward way of creating this, and a lot of the data is held in a decentralized way with the passenger, so the systems are simpler.”

Authorities in Aruba were pleased enough with the pilot to now begin working toward full implementation.

“For passengers, there will be a seamless process - from before departure until arrival at their hotel in Aruba - in principle, no lines,” said Edwin Kelly, director general of the Department of Civil Aviation in Aruba.

Ultimately, the intention is for the digital credential to serve as the traveler’s identification for everything in their trip, from car rental pick-up to hotel check-in to entry at attractions. For the Aruba pilot, the credential also served as identification for travelers visiting an attraction – the Butterfly Farm – to test its use for venue access and to demonstrate the fact that the traveler controls what data is shared when and with whom.

“When you are going across the border, you obviously need to provide a lot of data to the government so they can clear you, but if you are entering a casino, for example, the casino just needs to know you are over a certain age, they don’t actually need to know your date of birth or your passport details,” Springall said.

“It is about selective disclosure based on the real ‘need to know.’” 

Stakeholder synergy

The challenges of implementation are less about the technology itself and more about the need for cooperation and agreement among governments, airports and airlines. 

Kelly said that is why Aruba has been an ideal testing ground.

“It’s a small island. … The systems are in place, everybody knows each other, everything happens on a smaller scale, so the environment is perfect to implement things like this in a more efficient and quick way,” he said. 

Springall said interest in this type of solution - open-source, decentralized identity technology – is accelerating across all types of destinations, and in fact it can create an advantage for emerging markets.

“I’ve been presenting at conferences in Africa … even though the infrastructure there is more limited today, with this technology it enables them to almost surpass what other countries are doing because they are not held back by legacy systems,” Springall said. 

SITA’s Passenger IT Insights survey in 2022 found 87% of respondents have positive feelings about using technology for identity control – up 11% since 2016. And IATA’s 2022 Global Passenger Survey found more than 80% of travelers are willing to share passport data to expedite airport processing.

“We are of the belief, as are many other industry players like IATA, that we are moving away from traveling with a physical passport and moving towards a digital way of traveling,” Springall said.

“It took a little while for people to be comfortable with putting your credit card on your mobile phone … and now we are all very comfortable using mobile wallets. ... Why not capture more information in relation to digital identities for travel?”

To spur this development, SITA and Indicio have entered a “co-innovation agreement” to accelerate deployment of digital identities for travel. 

SITA’s digital travel credential uses Indicio Proven technology to create a trusted travel network that streamlines verifications for travelers, governments and suppliers such as hotels and airlines. And SITA is integrating the technology with its other solutions, such as SmartPath, which uses biometrics to move travelers through an airport. 

Interest has been coming in from airports, governments and airlines, which Springall said are particularly interested  because the creation of a traveler-managed digital identification eliminates the need for the airline to store personally identifiable information, thereby reducing their risk of violating the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation and other privacy measures.

“The adoption of digital identities will be the biggest technology breakthrough in the travel industry in decades,” Springall said.

“It will simplify the identification process at every step of the journey and open up opportunities for the air transport industry to fully embrace the benefits of seamless travel and the digital economy. SITA, together with Indicio, are proud to be leading the charge.”