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Embracing Technology

Miami International Airport used to be famous for the hours-long lines passengers waited in when they arrived from other countries. These days, the nation’s second busiest airport for international traffic is hoping to be better known for the way it breezes travelers through a once-lengthy process – and connects them with better in-house amenities, including location-based alerts and, eventually, free Wi-Fi. The changes are underway thanks to past, current and planned investments of more than $10 million. The most recent upgrade came just two weeks ago, when MIA became the second airport in the country after Hartsfield�Jackson Atlanta International to roll out the Mobile Passport app. After downloading the app, U.S. citizens and qualified Canadians entering from abroad can create a profile and skip long lines after submitting customs and immigration information through their smartphone. Within the first few day’s of its launch, hundreds of passengers had used the app upon arrival. One of them was Louis Nicastro, 51, who downloaded the free app from the App Store when an airport employee told him about it. He stepped out of line at an automated passport kiosk so Debra Shore, expedited screening manager at MIA, could walk him through the process. “Smile!” she urged Nicastro as he took a selfie for his profile picture. It took about four minutes for him to download the app and create a profile, and another minute to input details about his trip from Trinidad and Tobago. Nicastro, who was returning home to Delaware, made it through immigration and out of customs within 22 minutes total – a process made longer because of the attention of Miami Herald journalists. “Anything that would quicken this process is awesome,” Nicastro said. Hans Miller, CEO of Airside Mobile, which developed the app, said his company has been impressed by the way MIA has promoted the option with giant signs and staff training. “We’ve really been blown away by their enthusiasm and their desire to make this resonate with passengers,” Miller said. The mobile app joins a solution that has been in place since late 2013, when the airport installed 36 self-service automated passport kiosks to help ease waits that at one point lasted five hours. By the end of April, 44 more kiosks – which can be used by U.S. and Canadian citizens, permanent legal residents and travelers from visa-waiver countries – will be in use. The total cost of the kiosks is $6 million, which includes equipment, operations, maintenance and infrastructure. “We’re doing everything we possibly can to bring technology into this airport,” said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. Gonzalez. “We’re pushing it out every way we can. Our goal is to have Joe traveler come through here and not make those horrendous lines that we became famous for last year.” An average of 7,000-8,000 passengers a day – a quarter of all travelers arriving at MIA...