Finland tests first digital travel passport with UK flights

Passengers from London, Manchester and Edinburgh can pass through border control faster than usual

The digital version of a physical passport will allow for faster border crossing to and from Finland on certain routes. Photo: Finnish Border Guard

The Finnish Border Guard has announced it's testing what it believes to be the world's first digital travel documents at Helsinki Airport's border control.

The experiment, which is being done in co-operation with Finnair, the Finnish police and airport company Finavia, began on August 28 and will end in February.

Finnish customers flying on Finnair to or from London, Manchester and Edinburgh have been invited to test the Digital Travel Credentials, or DTC, as part of a pilot project that allows them to pass through border control without queuing.

The DTC is a digital version of a physical passport, allowing for faster border crossing without compromising security, the Finnish Border Guard's website says.

Passengers travelling to and from Finland on the routes who want to participate in the project can register as voluntary users on the border guard's website, raja.fi. Instructions include downloading the FIN DTC Pilot digital travel document app, registering with the police and sending data from the application to the Finnish Border Guard four to 36 hours before a flight to the UK.

“The digital travel document DTC is now being tested in real border control, reportedly for the first time in the world,” the border guards say, adding that this digital passport is as “equally reliable” as a physical one.

The European Commission is developing the DTC as part of a broad digital identity policy package that includes several services. The EU is co-funding Finland's pilot project, providing €2.3 million.

The project will also be tested in autumn at Zagreb International Airport in Croatia.