Published on Monday, July 13, 2026
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Costa Rica’s busiest international airport will begin introducing automated border control systems, known as eGates, later this month in an effort to speed up immigration processing for travelers.

Aeris Holdings, the Brazilian company that manages Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) in Alajuela Province, announced that the airport will begin a phased rollout of the biometric system during the last week of July 2026.

The self-service eGates use biometric data stored in passport chips, including facial features and fingerprints, along with facial recognition or fingerprint scans, to verify a traveler's identity. The verification process takes less than one minute per passenger and is expected to reduce wait times at immigration checkpoints.

If the system cannot verify a traveler's identity or experiences a technical malfunction, the eGate will remain closed and an immigration officer will assist the passenger.

The project was originally expected to launch in 2025 but was delayed while authorities conducted one year of testing on the facial recognition technology before approving it for use in Costa Rica.

"The implementation of the eGates was achieved after a complex process that included software development, technological integration and constant testing to achieve the expected level of reliability," said Ricardo Hernández, director of Aeris.

The rollout will occur in several phases.  Initially, four eGates will be installed and available only to Costa Rican citizens and legal residents with DIMEX identification cards who hold biometric passports. Because travelers' facial geometry is already stored in the passport's electronic chip, no additional registration will be required.

In the second phase, the system will be expanded to Costa Rican citizens who do not have biometric passports. Those travelers will be required to complete a one-time preregistration so their facial data can be added to the system.

At a later stage, the eGates will also become available to foreign travelers carrying biometric travel documents. Aeris has not announced a timeline for those phases, saying it will first evaluate the results of the initial rollout.

Over time, the system is expected to expand to travelers from additional countries, including the United States and European nations, provided they carry biometric passports, Hernández said.

The installation and maintenance of the eGates will be financed through a 14-cent technical fee charged to each departing passenger.

The announcement comes as SJO continues a broader modernization effort. The airport recently opened a new arrivals area as part of an expansion project to improve services for the growing number of travelers using Costa Rica's primary international gateway.

Official figures show the airport handled nearly 591,000 passengers during the first quarter of 2026.

In 2025, the airport welcomed more than 1.74 million travelers.

As Costa Rica’s tourism industry continues to expand, international airlines are increasing service to the country. Germany’s flagship carrier, Lufthansa, announced this week that it plans to increase nonstop flights between Frankfurt Airport and SJO.

Juan Santamaría International Airport currently serves 37 destinations through 25 international airlines. Passenger amenities include free Wi-Fi, pet-friendly areas, charging stations, self-service check-in kiosks, restaurants, souvenir shops, luggage-wrapping services, duty-free stores and VIP lounges.

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