Two senior officials from the Immigration and Tourism Departments accompanied the principal of a technology company called ZEN to Cabinet, interested in providing a fix for reducing the waiting time for passengers arriving Antigua, especially on weekends.
Passengers arriving Antigua and Barbuda are required to complete an E/D Card(Embarkation/Disembarkation Card) which is handed to an Immigration Officer along with the passenger’s passport; the Immigration Officer swipes the barcode within the passenger’s passport and then double checks to determine if the data provided by the written card match the passport data.
The passenger is usually asked how long and where he/she intends to stay.
The improved system which the technology firm proposes would have all the information inputted by the passenger as many as 48 hours before arriving Antigua, freeing the Immigration Officers at the V.C. Bird International from treating long lines of waiting passengers.
The arriving men and women and family members would swipe their passports, submit to a camera, and proceed to Customs.
The Cabinet considered the cost and the border security concerns before thanking the firm for its presentation. No decisions were taken.
