Electronic gates to be installed at Lahore airport for swift immigration, confirms minister

LAHORE - Electronic gates will be installed at the Allama Iqbal International Airport to facilitate the passengers who otherwise spend hours at the facility.

Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi while addressing a press conference at the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) regional office confirmed on Monday that electronic gates would be introduced so that the passport scanning process could be done without an immigration officer.

The minister elaborated that he had also discussed the new measures at the airport with Aviation Minister Khawaja Asif, adding that steps were being taken to increase counters at the airport to reduce the immigration time for flyers.

It is to be highlighted that there have been multiple announcements regarding the installation of e-gates at three airports across the country located in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. If the e-gates are installed, the flyers will be able to scan their passports themselves.

Pakistan is trying to revamp its aviation sector for which it has also decided to outsource the three major airports. Meanwhile, the government is also privatizing the national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

A consultant hired for the privatization of the airline has also submitted a comprehensive report and the government has announced to privatize the airline by June this year.

As far as the outsourcing of the airports is concerned, the former Aviation Adviser had said that only the operation and management of specific airport components would be outsourced, while critical services such as the Air Traffic Control Tower, Rescue and fire Fighting Services and Air Navigation services would remain under the administrative control of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority.