Wilson Johwa
4 November 2009
Johannesburg — AIRLINES that between them carry more than 85% of the passengers arriving in SA have signed on to an electronic system to enable immigration officials to identify dodgy passengers at the point of check-in, before they even board an aircraft bound for SA.
The advanced electronic system - due to be launched this month - is intended to improve security ahead of next year's Soccer World Cup, when human traffickers and other criminals are expected to target SA.
Of the 41 airlines operating international flights to and from SA, 31 have signed on to the passenger processing system.
Negotiations with the rest of the airlines were on course, the Department of Home Affairs' deputy director-general for immigration services, Jackson McKay, said yesterday.
The system would save airlines money as they are normally obliged to carry prohibited passengers - or anyone with irregular documentation - back to their point of embarkation.
Passengers landing with invalid travel documents can also cost the airline a fine of about R10000.
McKay said SA was the first country in Africa to invest in the advanced passenger processing system as used in the US and Australia, among other countries.
"It is a way of expanding our borders," McKay said.
The system will be an improvement on the requirement that airlines submit passenger manifests to immigration services. Under the current arrangement suspect travellers are identified only on arrival in SA.
McKay said initially a staff of 10 working in a control centre would manage the new system. "We're starting small," he said.
The electronic system - to be launched on a flight from Mauritius later this month - would assist with planning, especially in deciding how many staff to assign to each flight.
McKay said the Department of Home Affairs was also expanding electronic visa processing to all the country's land borders.
Earlier this year the department tested its proposed sports visa, meant for visitors coming to the World Cup. The general visa for SA was also being redesigned to incorporate the applicant's photograph.
Home affairs was in the middle of an R800m turnaround, which has been described as the biggest process re-engineering programme in the public service to date.
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