Immigration & Border Control
Departure Immigration & Border Control
Immigration is a critical stabiliser in the curb-to-gate journey. A predictable, well-managed border control process protects passenger buffer time, reduces downstream congestion, and supports smoother airside operations. The challenge, however, lies not in hardware or staffing alone, it is the variability: sudden inbound surges, uneven lane productivity, fluctuating E-gate performance, and queues that behave differently at high load.
FootfallCam provides a unified operational view purpose-built for immigration teams. Every queue, counter, and E-gate is measured with minute-by-minute accuracy to reveal flow rates, cycle times, and stability across the zone. Designed for high-density environments, the system integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructure and delivers clear, real-time visibility that supports staffing decisions, peak management, and SLA compliance. This ensures a more reliable, consistent, and accountable immigration experience for all passengers.
The Dashboard for Immigration Authority
Immigration Performance Dashboard
Immigration Performance Dashboard
Immigration teams need one thing: a live, unified operational truth. This dashboard consolidates queue length, P95 wait time, E-gate throughput, manual booth performance, and overspill alerts into a single real-time view. Every widget is designed to support fast, informed decisions, especially during peak-load periods.
Live Operations
Live Operations Dashboard
Provides a real-time view of all border checkpoints, displaying current queue lengths, estimated wait times, lane utilisation, and critical alerts. It equips operations teams to react instantly to rising congestion or system issues, ensuring a smooth, continuous flow of inbound travellers and timely intervention when required.
Lane Regulation
Lane Regulation Dashboard
Tracks performance of each immigration lane in use - lane occupancy, throughput, P95 waiting time, and lane-specific delays. Helps allocate lanes dynamically to balance load, reduce waiting times, and optimise lane utilisation.
Counter Performance
Counter Performance Dashboard
Monitors throughput at manual counters and e-gates, including travellers processed per hour, lane idle time, and developing backlogs. It provides a clear measure of staff efficiency and overall service performance, helping identify bottlenecks and guide decisions on balancing the opening or closing of different lane types.
Immigration P95 Wait Time
P95 wait time represents the experience of the slowest 5% of passengers - the group most affected by delays, service variability, and missed travel buffers. As the central KPI for immigration performance, it is refreshed every minute using live sensor data. All other metrics help explain, stabilise, and improve this number.
Key Metrics Captured at Immigration
Queue Heatmap (15-minute granularity)
Reveals flow surges, stability, and queue spillover patterns.
Manual vs E-Gate Throughput
Evaluates operational balance between lanes and quantifies processing gaps.
Lane Cycle Time Consistency
Shows counter efficiency and identifies inconsistent procedures.
Overspill Risk Projection
Predicts queue breaches before they occur, designed for APOC and real-time resourcing.
Hourly Demand Forecast (Next 120 Minutes)
Forecasts passenger load using flight mix and observed flow rates.
Airport Solutions for Immigration
Small Airports
Starting at
$8,000
Approx. 150 - 400m2
- Typical throughput: < 3 million passengers/year
- Possibly 1–2 e-gates (if available)
- Compact queuing zone
- Requires 9-10 devices to cover the area
Medium-Sized Airports
Starting at
$16,000
Approx. 400–1,200m2
- Typical throughput: 3–15 million passengers/year
- 6–16 manual counters, 4–10 e-gates
- Larger serpentine queue area
- Sometimes with fast-track or crew lane
- Requires around 20 devices
Large International Airports
Starting at
$24,000
Approx. 1,500-4,000m2 (or above)
- Typical throughput: > 20–40+ million passengers/year
- 20–50+ manual counters, 10–40 e-gates
- Multiple zones for nationality, transfer, crew, fast-track
- Requires 30-40 devices
Case Study
Peak Queue Stabilisation
Case Study 1
Stabilising Peak-Hour Queues During Flight Banks
Context
An international airport with three daily arrival banks experienced volatile queue lengths at immigration. Despite adequate staffing, uneven distribution of passengers to counters resulted in sudden spikes.
Challenge
Supervisors could only respond after the queue had already formed, relying on manual observation and radio communication. This led to inconsistent P95 waiting times and passenger dissatisfaction during the morning peak.
Action Using the System
- Real-time dashboards highlighted Booth Group B repeatedly exceeding the 20-minute queue threshold.
- Lane utilisation heatmaps showed underused automated gates during the same window.
- The system recommended redeploying one marshal to redirect eligible passengers to e-gates.
Outcome
- P95 waiting time reduced from 28 minutes → 17 minutes within two days.
- SLA compliance (≤15 mins) increased from 84% → 94%.
- The airport established a new standard operating procedure based on the system’s continuous alerts.
Immediate Value
Operational teams gained a live, evidence-backed method to prevent queue build-up rather than reacting after failure.
Off-Peak Right-Sizing
Case Study 2
Eliminating Overstaffing in Off-Peak Periods Context
Context
A mid-sized Asian airport staffed immigration counters uniformly throughout the day, even during the low-traffic midnight hours.
Challenge
Actual processing demand after 23:00 was far lower than planned. The airport wanted to reduce cost without risking long wait times.
Action Using the System
- Historical path reconstruction showed hourly throughput dropping by 62% after 23:00.
- Staff utilisation dashboards revealed only 40% utilisation of open manual counters.
- Forecasting module recommended closing 3 counters while maintaining SLA protection.
Outcome
- Staff requirement reduced by 3 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) per night shift.
- Annualised labour savings: USD 210,000.
- SLA compliance remained consistently above 96%.
Immediate Value
Operational teams gained a live, evidence-backed method to prevent queue build-up rather than reacting after failure.
Hidden Flow Bottleneck
Case Study 3
Identifying a Hidden Bottleneck in Queue Flow
Context
A European airport experienced fluctuating queues despite having many counters open. Operators assumed it was due to flight arrival variability.
Challenge
Passenger surveys highlighted frustration at slow-moving lines, but staff could not identify the exact cause. Queue length was manageable, but movement inside the queue was irregular.
Action Using the System
- The point-cloud playback and heatmap showed a stagnation zone caused by a poorly positioned stanchion.
- Movement density revealed a 30% slowdown where passengers converged before the queue split into manual and e-gate streams.
- Supervisors adjusted the barrier layout and added a directional marshal.
Outcome
- Average waiting time reduced by 9 minutes without opening any additional counters.
- Passenger flow became smoother, with 13% fewer stop-start movements.
- Complaints related to immigration queue dropped significantly during the following month.
Immediate Value
Operational teams corrected a structural bottleneck that was invisible to manual observation.
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