HELSINKI: The Finnish Border Guard is testing the world’s first digital travel documents at Helsinki Airport en route to and from the United Kingdom, the border guard’s representative, Mira Alopaeus, told RIA Novosti on Sunday, adding that the digital passports are expected to be as equally reliable as physical documents.
“The digital travel document is currently being tested in real border control for the first time in the world. The Finnish Border Guard invites passengers on Finnair flights to and from the United Kingdom to test the digital travel document at the border control at Helsinki Airport,” Alopaeus said, reported Sputnik.
She also said that only Finnish citizens, who are travelling with the Finnair flag carrier on the London, Manchester, and Edinburgh routes, could pass through border control faster than usual until the end of February 2024.
The Finnish nationals can test the digital passport by registering as a voluntary Digital Travel Credentials (DTC) user and using it at the border control when leaving and/or arriving in Finland, Alopaeus said, adding that it is necessary to inform the Finish Border Guard about the foreign trip no less than four hours before crossing the country’s border.
The DTC pilot project, led by the Finnish Border Guard, involves Finnish and Croatian partners and will also be tested at Zagreb International Airport this autumn. The European Union co-funds the project with 2.3 million euros (US$2.5 million). – BERNAMA-SPUTNIK
