This EU country is the first to trial digital passports
<p dir="ltr">Finland will be the first country to trial digital passports that would allow people to travel without paper documents.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Instead, travellers will be able to use a mobile app that stores digital copies of their important travel documents, as reported by the <em><a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/finland-set-to-become-the-first-eu-country-to-trial-digital-passports/MDLD7UORHB4GACBOZ35SZ3NUQQ/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NZ Herald</a></em>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">A successful trial would be a big step towards EU-wide adoption of digital passports, but Europeans shouldn’t be ditching their paper passports just yet.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Mikko Väisänen, an inspector of the Finnish Border Guard, said the trial is dependent on the Finnish government finishing the drafting of a funding application which will be submitted to the European Commission at the end of the month.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Once the funding is approved, a select group of volunteers will be able to take part in the pilot run, held at Helsinki Airport for flights between Finland and Croatia.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The volunteers will still need their paper passports, but will be given a mobile app to download onto their phone so they can share the necessary information with border security.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Väisänen said that adopting digital passports wouldn’t just make the lives of travellers easier, especially for those who forget or lose their documents while abroad, but can also make border checks more efficient.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Christoph Wolff, the Head of Mobility at the World Economic Forum, agreed, saying that electronic, paperless systems could be key to managing demand in airports.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"By 2030, international air arrivals are expected to reach 1.8 billion passengers, up 50 per cent from 2016. Under today's systems, airports cannot keep up with this growth," he said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">If the Finnish government’s application is successful, the trial would begin at the end of 2022.</p>
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<p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>
