---
title: "Singapore aims for passport-free departures from Changi Airport next year"
description: "Some passengers will soon be able to depart from Singapore’s Changi Airport without a passport, as part of changes to the city-state’s immigration law that allows for end-to-end biometric clearance."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Business Maverick"
author: "Bloomberg"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/bloomberg/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-09-19-singapore-aims-for-passport-free-departures-from-changi-airport-next-year/"
published: "2023-09-19T05:46:23"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 196
---

# Singapore aims for passport-free departures from Changi Airport next year

> Some passengers will soon be able to depart from Singapore’s Changi Airport without a passport, as part of changes to the city-state’s immigration law that allows for end-to-end biometric clearance.

By Bloomberg · Published 19 September 2023, 07:46 SAST

## Key points
- Singapore is taking the lead in air travel security with the introduction of biometrics for authentication at various steps from bag-drop to boarding, helping passengers to breeze through the process and get back to pre-pandemic levels.
- From 2024, biometrics will be used for automated authentication at various steps in the departure process.
- This will reduce the need to present travel documents multiple times.
- Singapore is expecting pre-pandemic levels of travellers by 2021 and building a fifth airport terminal.
- Changi Airport handled 5.12 million passengers in June 2020, 88% of passenger traffic in June 2019.

## Content

From the first half of 2024, biometrics will be used for authentication at various automated steps in the departure process, from bag-drop to immigration and boarding, communications minister Josephine Teo [said](https://www.mha.gov.sg/mediaroom/parliamentary/second-reading-of-the-immigration-amendment-bill) in parliament on Monday.

“This will reduce the need for passengers to repeatedly present their travel documents at these touchpoints, allowing for more seamless and convenient processing,” Teo said.

The changes come as the number of travellers to the financial hub is expected to rebound to pre-pandemic levels by next year, and continue to increase thereafter. Singapore is currently building its fifth airport terminal, while its high-speed rail linkage with Malaysia’s southern state of Johor is expected to be ready in a few years.

“Our immigration systems must be able to manage this high and growing volume of travellers efficiently and provide a positive clearance experience, while ensuring our security,” Teo said.

Ranked the best airport in the world, Changi [handled](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-20/world-s-best-airport-sees-traffic-soar-to-over-5-million-in-june) 5.12 million passengers in June, crossing the five million mark for the first time since January 2020 when the pandemic hit. The figure, amounting to 88% of passenger traffic in June 2019, shows the city-state is well on its way to renewing international ties.