Quick summary
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has switched on a redesigned Global Entry arrivals process at Philadelphia International Airport, replacing the self-service kiosks members have used for years with facial-recognition cameras that confirm identity and membership in one pass. Philadelphia is the first live site; CBP’s stated footprint runs to as many as 38 terminals across 30 high-volume airports, including some overseas Preclearance locations.
No airport-by-airport schedule has been published, so members cannot yet confirm when their home gateway converts. U.S. citizens who decline the camera can still request a manual document check.
Global Entry’s kiosk queue is gone at Philadelphia — replaced by a camera that reads your face and clears you in a single glance.
CBP activated the redesigned arrivals process at Philadelphia International Airport on October 13, 2026, making PHL the first airport in the country to run it. Members arriving on an international flight now step into the Global Entry area and are verified by biometric facial comparison, which checks both who they are and whether their membership is active. The old step — standing at a kiosk to answer customs declaration questions yourself — is gone from the lane. What replaces it is a camera you walk past, not a screen you touch.
For travelers coming home from Asia, the practical change is small but real: expect a camera, not a terminal. Keep the Trusted Traveler app installed, because it remains a parallel way to report your arrival and file a declaration at participating airports.
The scope is what makes this more than a Philadelphia story. CBP intends to extend the model to as many as 38 terminals at 30 busy airports, and selected Preclearance sites abroad sit inside that set. No dates have been attached to any of them.
What actually changed at the Global Entry lane
CBP’s Philadelphia rollout is the first live instance of a process the agency plans to standardize. Under the revised workflow, the camera does two jobs at once: it matches your face against your travel document and confirms your Global Entry status. The kiosk handled the second job only after you had answered a series of declaration questions on a touchscreen. Strip away the hardware and the change is a workflow edit — two steps folded into one camera match.
Elliot N. Ortiz, CBP’s Area Port Director in Philadelphia, framed the shift around throughput and security. “This improved process for Global Entry members reflects Customs and Border Protection’s continued efforts to process travellers more efficiently, enhance the international arrivals experience, and strengthen our nation’s security,” he said in the agency’s announcement of the PHL deployment.
The declaration step has not vanished — it has moved. CBP says its Trusted Traveler mobile app, supported at 85 airports and multiple Preclearance locations, lets members confirm an international arrival and submit a customs declaration from their phone. That gives travelers a parallel channel where it is enabled, rather than a forced choice between camera and kiosk.
What CBP has not published is a conversion calendar. The agency’s stated target is up to 30 airports and roughly 38 terminals, but no hub-by-hub list or dates appeared in the reviewed material. Until an airport confirms its own switch, the process you meet on arrival is the one that airport currently runs.
| Factor | Kiosk process | Camera process | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identity check | Document scan at the kiosk | Biometric facial comparison | Fewer steps at the lane |
| Membership verification | Confirmed during the kiosk transaction | Confirmed by the same camera match | Identity and status in one pass |
| Customs declaration | Answered on the kiosk screen | Trusted Traveler app where supported | Phone becomes the declaration tool |
| Opt-out path | Not applicable | Manual document check on request | U.S. citizens can decline the camera |
Superdeals cover departures from North America, Europe and Australia.
Flight deals most people never see
Air Traveler Club monitors thousands of routes for pricing anomalies that traditional search engines miss. With ATC Superdeals members save up to 80% on each flight vs. regular fares.
Too good to be true? Check it out yourself. It's free.
Delivered weekly. Unsubscribe anytime.
Why the kiosk is losing to the camera
Philadelphia is not an isolated upgrade. CBP has been widening biometric facial comparison across the border-processing chain for years, and the Global Entry lane is the latest piece of that build-out rather than a standalone experiment. The direction is consistent: replace user-operated hardware with a camera the traveler walks past.
What that produces in the near term is a mixed system, not a clean cutover. Cameras at upgraded lanes, the app where it is supported, and legacy kiosks everywhere else will coexist for a while. CBP describes the new experience as replacing the kiosk step at participating locations, but publishes no retirement date for the wider kiosk fleet.
Airports rarely rip out a working lane before the replacement has proven itself at peak volume — which is why kiosks will linger at secondary terminals long after the marquee hubs have switched.
The standard sequence from here is familiar: one airport proves the workflow, the agency publishes a footprint, individual airports announce their own conversions, and the kiosk fleet is decommissioned last and quietly.
What to do before your next U.S. arrival
The camera lane is live at Philadelphia now and will reach other gateways without a published schedule — so the preparation happens before you fly, not in the arrivals hall.
- Update the app before departure. Install or refresh CBP’s Trusted Traveler app and confirm your membership and passport details are current. It remains the arrival-confirmation and declaration channel at participating airports.
- Check the signage at your arrival airport. At PHL, follow the camera lane. At every other U.S. gateway, follow the process that airport currently shows — do not assume the conversion has reached it.
- Decide on facial comparison in advance. If you want a manual document check, tell a CBP officer when you reach the lane rather than after the camera has already matched you.
- Build in time if you are connecting. A manual check takes longer than a camera match, and a tight domestic connection is the wrong place to test it.
Watch: CBP’s next airport announcement — the agency has named a 30-airport footprint but no dates, and the first few conversions will show how quickly the rest follow.
Reporting by
Questions? Answers.
Is facial recognition mandatory at the Global Entry lane?
No. CBP’s policy allows U.S. citizens to decline facial comparison, notify an officer, and receive a manual document check instead. Expect that alternative to take longer than a camera match.
How long does CBP keep my facial image?
For U.S. citizens, CBP says matching images are retained in secure systems for no more than 12 hours after identity verification. The agency distinguishes that short-term matching retention from longer-term biometric records that may apply to non-U.S. citizens.
Which airports get the new process next?
CBP has named a footprint of up to 30 airports and roughly 38 terminals, including selected overseas Preclearance sites, but has not published an airport-by-airport calendar. Treat any specific hub as unconverted until CBP or the airport confirms it.
Does the Trusted Traveler app replace the kiosk?
Not entirely. The app handles arrival confirmation and customs declarations at 85 airports and multiple Preclearance locations, and it remains the administrative hub for applications, renewals, document updates, and interview scheduling. CBP has published no retirement date for the wider kiosk fleet.
