Automated Border Control: A Comparative Usability Study at Two European Airports

Abstract

Throughout Europe airports are increasingly installing automated border control (ABC) technologies as they are expected to improve security, streamline the traveling process, and facilitate better passenger experience. Although these e-gates have been in use for years, they are still underutilized by travellers. This might be partly due to problems with the systems’ usability. This paper presents a usability analysis of ABC e-gates at two large North-European international airports and compares their ease of use. Our study shows that there is scope for a better designed, standardized system with a more intuitive interface.

Keywords: Automated Border Control, e-gates, usability, passengers, biometrics