The Juan Santamaría International Airport announced an improvement that will ease passenger flow. Airport officials confirmed that electronic migratory gates (eGates) will be installed starting in July 2025. The eGates will be gradually implemented. Ricardo Hernandez, representative of Aeris Holdings S.A., the company that manages the air terminal, indicated that the process will commence first with national passengers, and as they assess the experience, it will expand to other nationalities, such as those from the United States and Europe, which have biometric passports.
This technology is essential for increasing capacity and enhancing the overall passenger experience. According to the authorities, the installation of eGate technologies, both in arrivals and departures, aims to modernize the immigration control areas with processing times of 10 to a maximum of 15 seconds. Aeris and the General Directorate of Immigration (DGME) have been collaborating to streamline immigration control processes at the airport.
“The aim is to readapt the kiosks in the arrivals area to include 4 eGates, (3 standard and 1 for reduced mobility), and a monitoring station, along with 2 eGates at the exits. This is the project; it is one of the initiatives we want to put into service by July 2025,” the Aeris representative stated.
Despite the installation of these checkpoints, constant monitoring will be necessary in case of queries related to specific passports through the Immigration, Interpol, or Judicial Branch systems. The eGates will be financed through a technical fee of 14 cents per outgoing passenger. This money will cover the cost of the project, including the acquisition of equipment, servers, monitoring stations, interfaces, support, and maintenance for technological updates.
“It has already been discussed with the airlines, and they found it quite reasonable. Aeris is finalizing the contract with SITA,” Hernández noted. By 2030, it is expected that the equipment will be renewed to prevent it from becoming obsolete
