95% of Changi Airport Arrivals to Be Cleared via Automated Lanes by 1Q 2024

Eligible foreign visitors in Singapore are now allowed to use the automated immigration lanes even without enrolling beforehand, according to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority yesterday.

The agency has been widening the reach of its Automated Clearance Initiative (ACI) since May 2022. At present, the ACI has expanded to 130 automated lanes at the Changi Airport and 40 automated lanes at land checkpoints, whereas ACI eligibility now includes 51 jurisdictions for passport holders.

The ACI is part of the agency's New Clearance Concept (NCC), which aims to make automated immigration clearance the norm at Singapore's checkpoints. The ICA is targeting that 95% of all Changi Airport arrivals will be processed through automated lanes by the first quarter of 2024, as per the press release.

The automated lanes take less space and manpower, allowing the agency to "increase its clearance throughput and meet the growing traveller volume."

ICA officers will also be trained to upskill, shifting from counter duties like manual clearance to roles like profiling, assessment, and investigation.

"[The ACI] will allow us to onboard more travellers for the use of our automated lanes as we move towards having automated clearance as the norm," Phua Chiew Hua, deputy director of the operations division and assistant commissioner of the ICA, was quoted as saying.

"We have made the enrolment process as seamless as possible, so that travellers can perform self-enrolment at the automated lanes while clearing immigration. If required, our officers deployed at the automated lanes will assist them."