A rehaul of biometric immigration e-Gates designed by New NAIA Infra Corp will take place at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport this December, to speed up passenger processing and ease terminal congestion. The operation is set to begin in phases and work collaboratively with travel technology provider, Amadeus to modernise the automated border control system. The eGates use a combination of passport scanning and facial recognition technology to match and verify the legitimate passenger.
Designed to reduce wait times and increase throughput, the system will initially go live at Terminals 1 and 3, NAIA’s primary international gateways.
The first activation phase is planned to start in December 2025, with full deployment expected early next year.
Once active, the system will complement NNIC’s rollout of biometric touchpoints across check-in, security screening, and boarding, forming an end-to-end digital passenger journey.
The upgrade comes amid sustained passenger growth of over 50 million passengers last year at the country’s busiest airport, surpassing its original design capacity. NNIC President Ramon S. Ang said the introduction of automated immigration checks is central to improving overall airport flow.
“Our goal is to make each part of the airport experience more comfortable for passengers,” Ang said. “These eGates will help reduce bottlenecks at immigration and support the broader improvements we have been introducing across NAIA.”
Industry observers note that the new eGates put NAIA closer to international standards for automated border control, long used at major hubs in Asia and Europe.
The launch of biometric e-gates at NAIA signals that frictionless travel is a global reality, making the debate on interoperability and global standards critical. Join the Seamless Travel and Biometrics at the Border sessions at Identity Week Europe 2026 to hear directly from global authorities and airlines. Speakers like Lisette Looren de Jong (Netherlands Ministry of Justice and Security) and Nick van Straten (KLM Royal Dutch Airlines) alongside other speakers from FRONTEX, the Belgian Federal Police, Muehlbauer, and Entrust will discuss securely the evolving relationship between identity, security, and seamless customer journeys.
