"The new technology incorporates the passport scanner into the gate, eliminating the need for the kiosk and ticket. Departing passengers scan their passport and step up to the biometric scanner, which is faster and more efficient than the current two-step process.
"Having nine new gates more than doubles Customs' capacity for departing passengers. The four previous SmartGates are being put to good use too - they have been relocated, so arriving passengers also have more gates from next week.
"The expansion and modernisation of SmartGate will help manage the increasing numbers of travellers, which is expected to grow by 2.3 million to about 13.3 million by 2019. The new gates ensure legitimate travellers can enjoy faster border processing and officers can focus more on the high-risk travellers," Ms Wagner says.
Four gates were installed at Auckland Airport's arrivals area in 2009. Almost 15 million passengers have used SmartGate in this time.
Expansions for Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown Airports are planned over the next 12-18 months.
