They are called “Digital Travel Identities” or DTC and are an alternative to traditional passports. Finland launched a pilot project allowing use at the end of August – the first of its kind in the world – with a special queue at border controls at Helsinki Airport.
The system is only accessible to certain UK destinations and must be used in conjunction with the physical, closed passport, the chip of which is scanned at the airport.
Travelers must first download an app on their phone and then physically check in at a special police station. They create a digital copy of the passport by scanning the chip present in the physical version and having their photo taken there to then enable facial recognition.
Finnish border guard inspector Mikko Väisänen explains that the pilot project aims to speed up all types of screening procedures at airports.
“It is a first step that gives an idea of how we will travel in the future. But the two main reasons are speed and safety,” he says.