Explained | How Finland is leading the way with digital passports for easy travel

Finland has become the first country in the world to introduce digital passports intended to speed up, ease and secure international travel, reported News18.

On August 28, the country launched the groundbreaking trial in partnership with Finnair, the Finnish police and airport operator Finavia. This trial is being conducted by the Finnish Border Guard and will last through February 2024 at Helsinki Airport border control.

Finland is now the first country ever to test digital travel documents. For the time being, it is only available for Finnair passengers travelling to or from London, Manchester, and Edinburgh.

What is digital passport and who are eligible?

The Digital Travel Credential (DTC) is a digital version of physical passport, that can be stored in phone. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is developing a global framework for digital travel documents, set guidelines for it.

Only Finnish citizens who are travelling between Finland and the UK on Finnair flights, will be eligible for the trial. Four to 36 hours prior to a flight to the UK, interested candidates would have to download the FIN DTC Pilot digital travel document app, register with the police, and submit their data to the Finnish Border Guard.

By having their photo taken and comparing it to the one stored in their DTC, individuals can use the digital passport to verify their identity at the Helsinki Airport.

However, the participants would need to carry their physical passports and have them scanned at the border control in Finland and the UK.

Passengers will no longer be needed to carry physical travel documents in the future if the pilot project proves to be successful.

Advantages of digital passports

The digital passport offers travellers a number of benefits as it reduces waiting time and queues at border control.

Additionally, it can improve privacy and security and prevent document or identity fraud.

The trial was a part of the European Union's (EU) broader high-tech initiative's pilot project. Last year, the European Commission reached out and inquired about its interest in taking part in the pilot project. The project is being financed with €2.1 million (Rs 21 crore) by the European Commission. Later this year, a similar trial will begin in Croatia at the Zagreb Airport.

Christoph Wolff, Head of Mobility at the World Economic Forum said, "By 2030, international air arrivals are expected to reach 1.8 billion passengers, up 50 per cent from 2016. Under today’s systems, airports cannot keep up with this growth."

Are digital passports different from e-passports?

Digital passports are in use in more than 100 countries, including India. An e-passport has a chip-enabled in it with a biometric identification card to inflate security and improve identity verification.

An e-passport is a form of physical passport, while the digital passport could be carried in phone.

Digital passport around the world

Here is a list of initiatives that other countries have taken or are planning regards digitalisation of passport:

• Similar to Finland, Poland, South Korea, United States and the United Kingdom are also working on digital passport project.

• In 2021, Ukraine became the first country to give the same legal status to digital passports as physical ones.

• In February 2021, Singapore introduced HealthCerts, a digital health passport that allowed travellers to securely store and present their Covid-19 test results and vaccination records.

• Additionally, countries like China, Estonia and Israel launched digital vaccine passport.