Prospect of borderless access with Aust distant
July 23rd, 2009
John Key is to announce efforts to streamline border controls between Aust and NZ when he meets Kevin Rudd in Canberra on August 18. The drive is to deliver an experience for trans-Tasman travellers which is as close to domestic travel as possible, without ceding customs and quarantine checks. Key will be armed with the results of the SmartGate automated passenger processing trial at Auckland Airport, where holders of so-called e-passports can be processed via an interactive kiosk. Speeding up processing at airports will be a boon to tourism from NZ’s biggest source of visitors though operationally some thorny issues have to be overcome, including how to separate passengers who are classed as ‘domestic’ from those who are ‘international,’ possibly on the same flights.
Airports, airlines, customs, biosecurity, security, immigration and other stakeholders aren’t yet at the stage to contemplate how the bread and butter issues of international travel would be affected, including access to duty free shopping, a key revenue source for gateways such as Auckland International Airport. Terminal layouts may also have to be altered to cope with new classes of traveler. Airport insiders say “it’s going to be very, very difficult” to implement.
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