The use of digital travel documents may soon be tested at Helsinki Airport if funding is approved by the EU Commission.
The initial plan is to test digital documents between Finland and Croatia.
According to a report in SchengenVisaInfo.com, the eagerness of Finland to trial digital travel documents follows the European Commission’s wish for the pilot project to be carried out by some member states in order to gather experiences that would allow the presentation of a proposal for implementing such a project in all EU countries.
The Finnish newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, explains that Mikko Väisänen, an inspector at the Finnish Border Guard, said that ‘by using digital travel documents, border checks, and the travel process, in general, will run smoother and faster.’
According to Väisänen, the Finnish authorities are currently drafting a funding application for the Commission, which must be submitted by the end of August. He emphasised that it will be decided if the project will be carried out or not only after the funding application is submitted.
Väisänen further explained that if the Commission approves the project, the authorities will provide a group of volunteers with a phone app that contains a digital travel document. Through this app, passengers will be able to send the information in their travel documents electronically to the border authorities before their trip. However, they will still have to keep their physical passport with them during the pilot project.
To assuage concerns regarding privacy, Väisänen emphasised that the information on the holder is verified in advance and deleted after the trip.
In addition to this, a photograph would be taken of the passenger at border control.
