According to Paperjam, the 10 automatic gates will be operational in terminal A, serving by flights to and from countries outside of the Schengen zone.

It is hoped that self-scanning and verification technology will speed up the security procedures for passsengers. The terminals, which verify the identity of the passport holder within 18 seconds, can be used by European passport holders aged 18 or over.

Other passengers must use conventional control booths, which are managed by officers from the border control department. To respond to a rising number of footfall at the airport, a further 10 officers have been added since 2015.

The automatic passport terminals have been in a testing phase in past months, with three in use at the departure gate. Paperjam reports that the downside of the system is that more airport staff are required to help passengers experiencing difficulties with the technology.

The gates and power supply were financed €1.3 million by the interior security ministry and “just under a million euros” by the airport authority for the redevelopment of the control zone.