Finland has been testing the digital passport at Helsinki airport since late August to speed up border control procedures.

The pilot of the digital travel identity card, or DTC, began on August 28 for Finnair flights to three British destinations: London, Manchester and Edinburgh, explained those responsible for the pilot application.

The traveler has to download a special application at DTC.

He must then register at a special police station in the Finnish capital where a digital copy of his passport is created by scanning the chip included in it.

It is also photographed there to enable facial recognition at the airport.

This pilot program “is a first step that gives an idea of ​​how we will travel in the future. But the two main reasons (for this venture) are speed and safety,” explained Mikko Vaisanen, inspector of the Finnish border guards in France Agency.

This digital passport experience is a world first, program officials say.

At the airport there is a line for travelers equipped with DTC for border checks.

The traveler scans his closed passport looking at a camera, a border guard compares his face with the photo taken at the police station. Then it can pass the check.

The information contained in the passport chip was previously sent to the border guards’ inspection system, which was able to check the background, Vaisanen explains.

A single registration at a police station is required and the traveler can then use the DTC as much as they want, with the only restriction being to register their trip in advance on the mobile app.

“We have passengers traveling with DTC every day,” underlines the person in charge of the pilot program, who explains that he does not yet have more statistics.

The pilot program was financed by the European Commission with the amount of 2.3 million euros. Finland is waiting to see what legislative proposal the European Commission will make on this matter before considering integrating this digital passport into its existing control system.