Singapore, Dec 12: Starting Monday, frequent travellers will no longer need to queue up to clear immigration at Changi airport.

A smart card will help them sail through without showing their passport, although they will still have to carry it. It takes 15 seconds to clear immigration using a smart card, compared with the usual 25 to 30 seconds at a manned counter.

By installing a thumbprint-reading machine at the airport, Singapore will become the first country to use fingerprint technology for airport immigration clearance.

Of course, as of now, the facility will only be available to the 33,000 travellers who make an average of two trips a month out of the country. But in time, the checkpoint access card will be available to other travellers, including student and employment pass holders.

The system cost about S$5 million to introduce at the airport.

It was developed by the NEC, the National Computer Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Singapore Telecom Group, and the government.

Other systems available for clearing airport immigration identify passengers by voice or the retina of the eye. Amsterdam's Schiphol airport for instance, carried out a trial with handprint technology to clear immigration.Singapore Immigration opted for the fingerprint technology because it felt this was more reliable.

Explaining the impetus behind the move, Controller of Immigration Lu Cheng Hang said:``We are preparing for the 21st century. It is also part of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore's move to make Changi a better airport."

The next six months will be trial period to monitor the effectiveness of the system and gauge travel patterns.

Eventually, Singapore Immigration hopes to use the system to clear motorcyclists and motorists at the land checkpoints.

The smart card clearance system first began in April last year as a pilot project at the Woodlands immigration checkpoint, involving 5,000 frequent travellers.

Another innovation being introduced by Singapore Airlines to ease travel out of Singapore is a self-ticketing machine for shuttle flights to Kuala Lumpur next February and self-check-in machines in March. It will enable passengers to choose their own seats.

There will be one ticketing machine and three check-in machines for a start, which will be available for use round the clock.

Passengers will have to use credit cards to pay for the tickets, which will be issued when the credit card has been verified and approved online.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.