Time nearly up for airport departure cards

Travellers leaving New Zealand through airports may soon not have to fill out departure cards. File photo / Brett Phibbs

Millions of departing travellers could be spared the chore filling in departure cards following work done by Customs and Statistics New Zealand.

The agencies are figuring out a way of gathering important data without the need to fill in the forms as part of wider moves to smooth the departure process through airports. Customs is also working with Aviation Security on a one-stop check at airports where passengers could be screened and information gathered for both agencies.

About five million departure cards are collected a year and last year it was simplified.

Comptroller of Customs Carolyn Tremain told the New Zealand Airports Conference that crucial information, particularly relating on passengers' intentions to return or not, still needed to be collected.

The goal was to do away with the cards altogether but there was not yet a deadline for this.

"We want to be able to find a way of removing the departure cards (but) we have to have the integrity of statistics ."

She said work with Aviation Security on co-ordinating checks was in an early phase.

Staff had been to the United States and Canada looking at systems being used in those countries.

"The issue there is making sure we have an effective process to make sure Customs can maintain the integrity of its processes."

Customs numbers had been boosted by six staff around the country following new rules cutting the number of duty free cigarettes from the start of this month.

In the first three days of the new law coming into effect around 80kg of tobacco was put in amnesty bins and Customs had collected $7500 in extra revenue.

"A number of people had elected to pay the duty and keep the cigarettes."

Previously 200 cigarettes were permitted duty free but this had been cut to 50.