Morpho (Safran) announced today that it has signed an agreement with Marseille Provence airport (AMP) to provide a new-generation of PARAFE 2 automated passenger control gates. This will be Morpho's first delivery of its latest model to a French airport. The system, which currently uses fingerprint recognition technology, will further be able to include facial recognition capability, once authorized by French legislation.

Since 2009, Morpho has already delivered 41 first-generation automated gates to French airports, including four in Marseille. PARAFE systems are also deployed at the two Paris-based airports, Charles De Gaulle and Orly. This innovative system uses biometric technology to check travelers' passports when entering or leaving the country.

The PARAFE 2 system has been approved by the French Ministry of the Interior. Building on 6 years of expertise in operational service, the new model is more compact and open, thus improving user comfort.

“As a partner of Morpho since 2012, Marseille Provence airport is extremely pleased to once again pioneer new services offered to passengers,” stated Pierre Regis, President of the Marseille Provence airport directorate. “PARAFE 2 is a solution which meets our needs to facilitate passage at border controls, offering a high level of security which can evolve over time. This modular approach enables us to meet immediate and future needs.”
Samuel Fringant EVP of Morpho’s Security division added, “Morpho is very proud to deploy its latest generation of automated border control gates at Marseille Provence airport. These modular systems feature improved ergonomics, a new design and will also be able to accommodate multi-biometric technologies (fingerprint and face recognition). These gates combine superior security with greater comfort of utilization for passengers. We would like to thank Marseille Provence airport and the French Ministry of Interior for their confidence and support of innovation. This has helped us design a solution which is perfectly adapted to the needs of the French authorities.

The system can be used by all persons over the age of 18 travelling with an EU or Swiss passport, after registration with the French border police. Registration, which is free and takes only a few minutes, is valid in any airport equipped with PARAFE automated gates. Since May 2012, holders of new biometric French passports (issued after July 2009) have been able to use PARAFE gates without prior registration, as they can be identified based on the fingerprints already stored in the chip of their passports.

More than 200,000 passengers are registered for the program, which enables a passenger to complete border check in 20 seconds. The program has administered more than 5 million checks thus far, meaning on average 35,000 controls per week.