Digital Travel Credentials (DTC), a digital travel document that is currently being tested in Finland, has been recognised by Time as one of the groundbreaking inventions in the Apps and Software category.
While there are many other inventions that could have secured a spot on this selection, Finland’s DTC managed to be selected as the document is expected to facilitate travel in the future significantly.
Finland became the first country in the world to test digital travel documents at the end of August of this year, and since then, all Finns have been able to become part of the pilot project.
The testing period for the digital travel document will go on until the end of February 2024, and more citizens of Finland have been called to test the document and experience the border controls of the future.
As the Finnish Border Guard explains, DTC is being tested by citizens of the country taking Finnair flights to Manchester, London, and Edinburgh, as well as by those returning back to the country from the same destinations.
Since the end of August, a high number of Finns have already passed through the border inspection by using the digital travel document, and many others have been encouraged to do so.
The digital travel document being tested in Finland permits all citizens of the country to go through the checks faster without the need to wait in queues for a long period of time. As it has been observed in the testing period so far, the inspection time for the digital travel document is only around ten seconds, ensuring that passengers have a smooth experience.
While there still may be some Finns who may be reluctant to test the document, the Finnish Border Guard stressed that the digital travel document is equally reliable as the physical passport.
The same noted that the digital travel document enables fast and smooth border crossing without compromising the safety of passengers.
In order to be able to test the digital travel document, Finns must first register. The registration process takes around five minutes, and once this step is completed, those holding a valid Finnish passport have the possibility to test the document.
Apart from Finland, Croatia has also started to test digital travel documents. The DTC testing project in Croatia was implemented by the Croatian authorities earlier in October with the aim of improving safety and improving the overall experience of passengers by using the latest technology.
