Cut Boarding Delays and Prevent Fines for Inadmissible Passengers: Regula and Checkport Switzerland Partner Up

Airlines face fines when passengers arrive without proper entry documents and are denied entry. To address this, Regula Document Reader SDK powers a digital application launched by Checkport Switzerland, a subsidiary of Swissport International. Regula’s solution quickly and accurately verifies nearly any ID in just three seconds, ensuring passengers meet entry requirements before boarding.

Checkport Switzerland handles document verification for millions of passengers in Zurich and Geneva annually. One of its main tasks is to provide behind-the-scenes document verification at key travel points—before departure and during airport check-in—to prevent unauthorized travelers from boarding the flight. This is done in accordance with INAD laws, civil aviation regulations that define the categories of so-called inadmissible passengers (INADs).

INAD passengers may be simply traveling with expired or missing documents, but they could also be fraudsters who try to bypass airport security and border control. If a passenger is denied entry to their destination because of insufficient ID, the airline must repatriate them at its own expense. Plus, in these cases, air carriers are imposed with heavy fines. According to Regula’s survey, among all the financial costs associated with identity fraud, the Aviation industry experiences the burden of penalties and fines in nearly every third case (29% of respondents).

To ensure compliance with INAD regulations and mitigate penalties for carrying INAD passengers, Checkport Switzerland developed MatchBox, a fully digital application that performs automated document checks during online check-in, including passports, visas, and permits.

At the heart of Checkport MatchBox lies Regula Document Reader SDK, an advanced software solution for document verification. Now, passengers simply scan their ID with a smartphone camera, and Regula Document Reader SDK handles the rest in automated mode—recognizing the document type, reading data from MRZs, barcodes, and RFID chips, checking the document’s validity for travel, and verifying its authenticity through liveness checks. The OCR capabilities of Regula Document Reader SDK even support handwritten document verification.

Regula’s solution relies on the most comprehensive identity document template database, which currently includes more than 14,000 ID templates from 251 countries and territories. This allows Checkport MatchBox to verify nearly any document from any corner of the world.

Since its launch, Checkport MatchBox has processed nearly 1.5 million travel documents, with 86% verified in a fully automated mode and average verification times of around 3 seconds. This solution has significantly reduced the costs associated with fines for unintentional INAD violations, cutting penalty expenses and minimizing staff training costs.

“At Regula, we work non-stop to empower companies around the world with advanced and reliable tools that make document verification—even of large volumes of passengers—seamless and efficient. By integrating Regula Document Reader SDK into Checkport MatchBox, we’re helping airlines and ground handlers reduce risks, cut down on penalties, and streamline check-in processes in these times of complex immigration requirements. This collaboration underlines how technology can simplify compliance and improve security and efficiency for both passengers and operators,” said Ihar Kliashchou, Chief Technology Officer at Regula.

Read more about the project here.

About Checkport Switzerland

Checkport Switzerland is a leading provider of digital solutions for travel document validation, offering cutting-edge technology that simplifies passport and visa checks at airports, automates boarding gate services, and ensures airlines meet all regulatory requirements. With a commitment to innovation and excellence, Checkport Switzerland helps airlines eliminate compliance risks, improve profitability, and provide seamless passenger handling services.

Learn more at checkport.info.

About Regula

Regula is a global developer of forensic devices and identity verification solutions. With our 30+ years of experience in forensic research and the most comprehensive library of document templates in the world, we create breakthrough technologies for document and biometric verification. Our hardware and software solutions allow over 1,000 organizations and 80 border control authorities globally to provide top-notch client service without compromising safety, security, or speed. Regula has been repeatedly named a Representative Vendor in the Gartner® Market Guide for Identity Verification.

Learn more at www.regulaforensics.com.