Aviation ICT Forum 2014 More ground to break Shaping the future. Together 16 17 October 2014
Follow the discussion @SITAonline #SITAIndia Tomorrow s Airport Today - IT Infrastructure & Stakeholder Management Tomorrow 's airport today Supporting Indian airports for US Customs and Immigration preclearance Ms. MEENAKSHI AGRAWAL SITA COUNCIL MEMBER & VP - IT MUMBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
The US Govt. thrust Effective border control and good customer service can t be mutually exclusive U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) has this year embarked on a business transformation project All of the business transformation initiatives are aimed at Getting people through the process more efficiently and ensuring security This is part of President Obama s Year of Action, the dawn of a new generation here at CBP 3
What is Preclearance The idea is that you go through customs and immigration before you get on the airplane instead of after you arrive in the US as usual. That means when you do arrive in the US, it s like arriving on a domestic flight with no formalities left. More specifically, it means that you go through check-in procedures as normal in the foreign airport, and then an area is set aside in the airport that s effectively considered part of the US. Currently, preclearance operations take place at 15 foreign airports in six different countries, 4
5 Process Flow
Preclearance Helps! Preclearance doesn t export queues : it helps to eliminate them. How? Efficiency Passengers departing on a U.S.-bound preclearance flight are precleared as they check in or arrive from various connecting flights, instead of requiring clearance all at once upon arrival in the United States. Capacity Overall increase in clearance capacity due to preclearance expansion reduces wait times at U.S. airports, speeding up connections and maximizing aircraft utilization. Opportunities for Innovation Innovations like trusted traveler programs, Mobile Passport Control, Automated Passport Control kiosks, the Baggage Image Weight Identification System, and queue management systems can make waiting in line a thing of the past. 6
Is that your bag? The Baggage Image Weight Identification System (BIWIS) provides an operational alternative that supports the integrity of the preclearance process while greatly improving the passenger experience. At baggage drop-off, an image, x-ray image, weight, and other data points are collected for each bag and linked to its owner. At inspection, a CBP officer examines the information and images of a passenger s bag, confirms ownership, and determines whether to clear the bag for loading onto the aircraft or recall the bag for physical examination at secondary inspection. Baggage tracking allows this process to occur securely and seamlessly, while passengers experience a faster, more pleasant preclearance process. 7
Process Flow Bags Loading Baggage handlers use BRS to record placement of bags into ULDS and Carts and the placement of ULDs and Carts into the aircraft. BRS is used to record movement of bags from baggage hall to CBP and back. BRS maintains real-time locations of all baggage to aid CBP requests for physical bag inspections. 8
Implementation requirement at Airports Designing and Implement Image Capture Module CBP Agent desks. Baggage Hall overhead monitors Baggage Reconciliation add-ons and additions Configuration to match agreed CBP procedures & infrastructure 9
Process Flow Pax Processing Boarding Cards scanned as passengers enter CBP queue. Boarding cards are presented to a Primary Processing Agent (PPA) who can: Clear the passenger Refer passenger, with or without bags, to an Secondary Processing Agent (SPA). For referred passengers, SPA can: Clear the passenger Request the passenger bags, if not already requested by PPA Offload the passenger 10
BRS Infrastructure plays pivotal role in CBP preclearance solution US Custom and Border Protection located off- shore to pre-clear passengers through US immigration and Customs BRS-CBP addresses this requirement Provides pax and bags information to CBP officers CBP officers scan a passenger s boarding card and see the bags and their weight. CBP officers can request a physical bag to be delivered with one screen touch. BRS has to be informed automatically of bags that should not travel. Real-time awareness of passenger progress through CBP at the boarding gates. 11
BRS Infrastructure plays pivotal role in CBP preclearance solution US Custom and Border Protection located off- shore to pre-clear passengers through US immigration and Customs BRS-CBP addresses this requirement Provides pax and bags information to CBP officers CBP officers scan a passenger s boarding card and see the bags and their weight. CBP officers can request a physical bag to be delivered with one screen touch. BRS has to be informed automatically of bags that should not travel. Real-time awareness of passenger progress through CBP at the boarding gates. 12
13 Process Flow Pax Processing
Process Flow Bag Request/Return CBP Baggage Requests and Transfers Request for Baggage come from PPA or SPA and are indicated to baggage hall users via the BagManager (overhead monitor and on HHTs and Workstations) Baggage Hall uses BagManager via the HHT and Workstations to locate the requested bags (images are on HHT also faster retrieval). Physical bags passed to the CBP areas where a HHT records the delivery (updating the current location). CBP agents perform the physical checks and decide to either Clear or Offload the passenger. Clearing a passenger, activates a new Bag Return Request within the BagManager and the baggage hall agents use the HHTs to record the retrieval of the bags from the CBP area. 14
Process Flow Final Processing Pax offloaded/bags unload A CBP Agent will have recorded this on-screen via the CBP system and the passenger cannot pass to departure gate. If passenger s bags are in the baggage hall but not yet loaded, they will be blocked from loading by the CBP system If passenger s bags are already loaded into a ULD, Cart or the aircraft, it will be marked for offloading and the flight will not depart until removed. Bags loaded on risk in carts and/or ULDs Loose hold loading gives warnings for unclear bags. Only Carts or ULDs that have no uncleared baggage, can be loaded without warnings. 17
Process Flow Reporting On departure, statistics are stored and available for atleast 2 years. 19
Air travelers benefit More direct-flight destination options: Precleared passengers may fly directly to hundreds of domestic U.S. airports. Faster connections: Just like U.S. domestic air travelers, precleared passengers do not have to go through CBP inspection upon arrival in the United States, resulting in shorter connection times and earlier arrival at final destinations. Shorter wait times: Preclearance reduces wait times for the inspection process at U.S. airports. For example, a precleared Boeing 777 from Abu Dhabi arriving at Chicago O Hare International Airport in the middle of peak traffic reduces the number of passengers in queues for inspection at that time by almost 20 percent. Greater predictability, door-to-door: Without the need for clearance on arrival in the United States, passengers benefit from a rapid and predictable exit from the U.S. airport, or transfer on to a connecting flight. Also, uncertainty concerning whether a passenger will be denied admission on arrival in the United States is greatly reduced. Seamless baggage transfer: With BIWIS, baggage may be checked through to passengers final destination, no pick-up/drop-off necessary. Efficient pre-boarding experience: Passengers arriving at the airport a recommended two to three hours before departure can use some of that time to complete the preclearance process. 20
Airports benefit Higher passenger volumes: Demand for preclearance increases the number of passengers, flights, and routes to and from the United States through preclearance airports, Increased service offerings: Airports are able to offer preclearance service to interested commercial aviation customers. More sales opportunities: Retail sales in preclearance areas generate significant revenue. Consistent service delivery: By leveraging innovations in baggage handling and passenger processing, CBP is able to inspect and preclear connecting passengers and baggage prior to departure without substantially increasing connection times. SO LETS GET READY FOR THE NEXT WAVE IN BORDER CLEARANCE 21
Aviation ICT Forum 2014 More ground to break Shaping the future. Together 16 17 October 2014