Cameras capture biometric data as travellers move through a wide passageway, verifying their identity against pre-registered details.

The system is initially aimed at elderly and disabled passengers who need extra assistance, but authorities plan to broaden access as the technology becomes more established. 

Eligible travellers can enrol through the All Indonesia mobile app, which consolidates immigration , health, quarantine, and customs procedures.

Three corridors are currently operational: two in Jakarta and one in Surabaya. They complement more than 240 automated e-gates already in service and mark the beginning of a wider national rollout across Indonesia’s airport network.

The technology was stress-tested during this year’s Hajj travel period, when Indonesia processed a large share of the world ’s pilgrims. Each corridor handled more than 30 crossings per minute at peak times — over ten times the throughput of standard e-gates — enabling more than 50,000 pilgrims to enter the country using facial recognition.

Officials say the expansion could ease congestion at immigration during major travel periods, including the Hajj season and domestic holiday peaks. 

Industry leaders described the corridors as a significant step towards truly contactless travel. 

While uptake of biometric identity checks varies widely between countries, adoption is rising across Asia Pacific and the Middle East . Some advanced models, including the UAE’s, already allow passengers to travel from check-in to boarding using only facial recognition.

Experts noted that the biggest barriers to global rollout are public confidence and regulatory frameworks rather than technical limits. Advocates argued that participation must remain voluntary, with passengers free to opt for manual processing if they prefer.

Before the lab’s establishment, all fossils discovered in Ethiopia were routinely sent abroad for examination, leaving Ethiopians with little opportunity to study their own heritage. “Because everything discovered in Ethiopia was exported, there was no chance for Ethiopians to study the items and develop expertise,” Berhane said.

With support from American colleagues, Berhane secured funding to equip the facility with tools to clean fossils encased in sediment, a process that can take years, and to produce precise replicas for international researchers. “Once we had the lab organised, there was no need to export fossils. We could do everything in-house,” he said.

Today, the lab houses approximately 1,600 fossils representing 13 of the more than 20 confirmed species of early humans, all stored securely in bullet-proof safes. The collection includes specimens dating back 6 million years, such as Ardipithecus kadabba, through to 160,000-year-old Homo sapiens fossils, confirming Ethiopia’s status as the “cradle of mankind.”

Berhane emphasised the unique continuity of Ethiopia’s fossil record. “Ethiopia is the only place on Earth where you can find fossils stretching that far back to the present, without any gaps in the record,” he noted.

Among the prized finds is “Lucy,” the 3.2 million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis skeleton discovered in 1974, which remains a symbol of Ethiopia’s archaeological legacy.

The project is expected to expand to other major cities across the country.

"Travelling around our country has become much more complex, and we need to bring our traffic and location systems up to international standards," Alphonse N’Guessan, the official overseeing the program for street name changes, renovation, and urban restructuring, told the AFP.

Beyond practical concerns, the initiative carries deep symbolic meaning for many Ivorians who see it as a reclamation of national identity and memory.

“It marks the history of Ivory Coast. Every boulevard is named after a politician, a minister or a renowned artist,” said receptionist Perpetue Bugre.

Streets previously named after French or unfamiliar foreign figures are now being renamed after those who played a central role in the country’s history. For some, the changes bring a long-overdue sense of pride and recognition.

"Let’s just say that it's already a great satisfaction for us," said Jean Bruce Gneple, a local salesperson. “President Félix Houphouët-Boigny was and will remain in the memory of all Ivorians as the first man of Ivory Coast, so this is a tribute to him, and we are proud of it.”

Franck Hervé Mansou, a 31-year-old technician, emphasised the educational value of the project.

“They say it's 'Boulevard Giscard d’Estaing,' 'Boulevard Blanchard.' We didn’t know Blanchard,” he said. “At school, we were taught about Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Biaka Boda, Marie Koré. The names of the streets in Ivory Coast should belong to Ivorian revolutionaries, Ivorian politicians. In the future, we will be able to explain this to our children .”

The street renaming is part of the government's strategy introduced in 2017 to modernise urban management and improve identification systems in growing cities.