Helsinki, Finland – In an unprecedented move, Finland has become the first nation to initiate a trial allowing travelers to cross its borders using a digital passport on their smartphones, eliminating the need for a physical passport. Although the pilot program is currently confined to Finnish citizens, the European Union (EU) is ambitiously targeting a digital ID adoption rate of at least 80% among its 27 member states by 2030.
This groundbreaking pilot program, known as the “Digital Travel Credential” (DTC), commenced at the end of August and is exclusively available to Finnish citizens. It operates at Helsinki Airport through a collaborative effort involving Finnair, airport operator Finavia, and the Finnish police. The DTC is set to provide greater convenience to Finnair passengers traveling to and from three airports in the United Kingdom and aims to streamline border control procedures.
The Finnish Border Guard, Raja, emphasized that travelers using the DTC can expect to “pass through border control faster and smoother than usual without queuing.” The EU is providing co-funding for the pilot project, amounting to €2.3 million (approximately US $2.5 million). In addition to the Helsinki trial, the EU has plans to launch similar pilot programs at Zagreb Franjo Tuđman Airport in Croatia and Schiphol Amsterdam Airport in the Netherlands.
The pursuit of a unified framework for digital identification across Europe aligns with the overarching goal of the eIDAS Regulation, enacted in 2014. This regulation seeks to enhance the safety, speed, and efficiency of electronic interactions between businesses and individuals throughout Europe, regardless of location. It is important to distinguish between the DTC, an electronic credential stored on a mobile phone, and a biometric passport (e-passport), a traditional passport booklet containing an embedded microchip with the traveler’s unique physical characteristics. The latter is denoted by the biometric camera symbol displayed on the passport cover.
While most countries worldwide now issue some form of e-passport, with the embedded RFID chip enhancing security and making forgery more challenging, Finland’s DTC represents a significant leap towards a digitally-driven border control system. In contrast, the United States transitioned to biometric passports as the default travel document in 2007, with the Next Generation Passport replacing the original e-passport as the standard document in 2021. The Next Generation Passport features a durable polycarbonate data page that enhances integrity and resilience by fusing its layers together, making it virtually tamper-proof.
The introduction of digital passports reflects a broader shift towards technological advancements in travel documentation, heralding a new era of border control efficiency and convenience for travelers. As Finland pioneers this groundbreaking trial, it stands as a testament to the EU’s commitment to fostering innovation in the realm of digital identification, setting the stage for further developments in the field.
Image source: Freepik
