U.S. Airports Roll Out Kiosks To Speed Customs Wait Times

Customers of United wait in line to check in at Newark International airport in New Jersey, November 15, 2012. Eduardo Munoz / Reuters

On her way from London to Ithaca, New York, through Newark Liberty Airport on Wednesday morning, Cindy Gration found herself spending more time talking about the new automated passport kiosk she’d just used than it took to use the machine itself.

Count it as a small piece of validation of the new system, which debuted a few weeks ago but was officially unveiled Wednesday and touted as an advancement toward reducing lines at customs for international trav“This technology allows customers to have shorter connect times so they can meet their obligations, and that’s really important,” said Don Wright, United Airlines’ vice president for Newark.Twenty kiosks are set up in Terminal C for arriving travelers, with 10 more scheduled to be installed soon. They’re already in use in about 20 U.S. airports including New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. They’re planned for several more airports including Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Tampa, Phoenix and Minneapolis.

American citizens returning from international trips and Canadian citizens arriving in the U.S. for short business trips are eligible to use the service, said Robert Perez, director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s New York field office.

Travelers use the kiosks by scanning their passport and having the machine take a photo of them to compare the two. Then they answer several questions about whether they’re declaring any goods. A law enforcement check is done electronically through the kiosk, and the traveler receives a receipt to bring to the customs line, where an agent takes over.

The whole process takes about two minutes.

Previously, those steps were performed by a customs agent, which contributed to long lines — more than an hour in places like Newark and JFK, according to Wright, who called the kiosks “a good step in the right direction.”

“It seems to work well and it’s fast,” Gration said. “And you’re still going to go through and talk to a human being, which comforts me.”

Copyright (2014) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Travelore Tips: Your Facebook Profile Can Get You Through Airport Security. Seriously

CORBIS/ARTIGA PHOTO

Recent traveler Zach Klein thought he was in trouble when he reached airport security and realized he'd left his government-issued ID at home. But that was until the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) told him he could use his Facebook profile as proof of his identity instead. The Vimeo co-founder and CEO of DIY.org was so shocked, he Tweeted about it:

Got to the airport, realized I left my ID at home. TSA allowed me to use my Facebook profile instead.

What's even more shocking to many travelers is that this isn't a new development. The TSA has a longtime policy that allows travelers to pass through security using "other means" of substantiating identity, including the use of any "publicly available database." As this particular case has demonstrated, this apparently includes social media websites like Facebook.

It's not all that surprising, considering the gradual increase in security measures by social media sites themselves, requiring users to utilize their government-issued photo IDs to confirm their identity. If you've been locked out of your account, for example,Facebook states you must send in photographs of either a birth certificate, driver's license, passport, marriage certificate, or social security card to verify your identity.Instagram users have also been required to confirm their identities by showing government-issued photo IDs.

That said, there doesn't appear to be a list of which "publicly available databases" are officially accepted by the TSA in lieu of a government-issued ID. According to Mashable, who contacted the TSA for further clarification, the designations remain "somewhat murky." However, as this particular case has proven, we think it's safe to say that having an online social media profile might be a surprisingly useful travel tool to have—just in case.

Contributed by cntraveler.com

Follow us on Twitter: @TraveloreReport