MIAMI: Travellers at Miami International Airport can now get through customs more quickly by using their smartphones.
Passengers can submit their passport and customs declarations using Mobile Passport Control, an app from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Airport and customs representatives officially unveiled the technology Wednesday at the Miami airport, the second in the nation to use it. The other is Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
The app is expected to roll out later this year at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Leonel Cordova, left, and Noris Cordova speak to a customs officer as they try to use their new mobile app at an entry point.
Since its unofficial launch last Tuesday, the Miami airport has processed 643 passengers with the technology, airport spokesman Greg Chin said.
The free app is available to U.S. citizens with a valid U.S. passport and Canadian citizens with both a valid Canadian passport and B1 or B2 visa status
The app is a partnership between Customs and Border Protection, Airports Council International-North America and app developer Airside Mobile.
“Since its debut last summer, Mobile Passport has transformed the customs clearance process for eligible travelers arriving in the United States,” Airports Council President and CEO Kevin M. Burke said in a statement.
Travelers download the app on an Apple or Andriod smartphone or tablet and then are prompted, if qualified, to set up a profile using a passport. After the profile is complete, travelers can use the Mobile Passport app to answer standard customs declaration questions, submit their information electronically upon landing and take advantage of dedicated lanes for Mobile Passport users.
“MIA lobbied hard to be one of the very first U.S. airports to offer Mobile Passport to our passengers,” said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. González. “MIA is the perfect fit for Mobile Passport.”
The Miami airport is the nation’s second-busiest port of entry, handling more than 20 million international passengers each year, officials said.
Mobile Passport joins several technological enhancements at South Florida airports in recent years.
Last year, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood added 20 automated passport kiosks in Terminal 4 to help funnel passengers through customs more quickly.
A year earlier, Miami International was among the first three U.S. airports to introduce these kiosks. The airport now has 36 kiosks and plans to add 44 more this year, officials said.
