Urumqi International Airport is positioned as the primary aviation hub of Western China and a strategic gateway along the Silk Road Economic Belt. The North Terminal, designed for an annual capacity of 48 million passengers, entered operation in 2025. In its first year, it provided service to 29.18 million travelers and recorded a single‑day peak of 108,700 passengers during the summer travel season.
During peak periods, each manual screening lane performs 2,000+ document verifications per day, placing significant pressure on security‑check operations. Traditional manual inspection, which typically requires 20–30 seconds per passenger, created bottlenecks, long queues, and operational inefficiencies across the terminal.
The airport also faced a uniquely diverse document landscape, processing passports from all countries alongside Mainland Travel Permits, Home Return Permits, Taiwan Compatriot Permits, Chinese Resident ID cards, and Permanent Residence Cards. Ensuring fast, accurate, and compliant verification across such a broad range of documents is essential for maintaining both aviation security and passenger throughput.
To meet these requirements, Urumqi International Airport partnered with Markland to deploy the MEPR500+ full‑function passport reader across all 38 security screening lanes. TheMEPR500+ deliverS rapid multi‑document recognition, high‑definition electronic portrait extraction, person‑document matching, and full‑page document archiving—forming the foundation of a modernized, high‑efficiency security‑check workflow. The project has successfully passed the airport's formal acceptance.
During peak travel periods, each manual screening lane performs 2,000+ document verifications per day, creating significant operational pressure. Traditional manual inspection—requiring 20–30 seconds per passenger—led to queue buildup, lane congestion, and reduced overall throughput across the terminal.
Urumqi International Airport processes one of the most diverse document sets in Western China, including:
Passports from all countries
Mainland Travel Permits
Home Return Permits
Taiwan Compatriot Permits
Chinese Resident ID cards
Permanent Residence Cards
Manual inspection across such a broad range of formats is slow, inconsistent, and prone to errors.
Security‑check officers must verify that the passenger matches the document holder with high precision. However:
Printed photos on document pages often lack clarity
Low‑quality images lead to repeated attempts and failed matches
High‑definition electronic portrait extraction is essential for reliable facial comparison
The airport must maintain a fully traceable and compliant workflow, requiring:
Full‑page document image capture
Synchronization of document data, boarding‑pass data, and comparison results
Seamless integration with the airport's security‑check platform
A closed‑loop process that supports regulatory audits and incident review
Security‑check lanes operate under heavy load for extended hours. Devices must deliver:
High stability
Minimal downtime
Consistent performance across all lanes
Reliable operation during peak‑season surges
The MEPR500+ integrates multi‑spectral imaging, OCR recognition, and RFID chip reading into a single device, enabling rapid and accurate processing of all major travel and identity documents.
Supports passports from all countries
Reads both printed and chip‑based data
Automatically validates document expiry dates
This significantly reduces manual workload and accelerates passenger throughput during peak periods.
To ensure reliable ID‑to‑person matching, the MEPR500+ extracts high‑resolution electronic portraits directly from the document's RFID chip.
Eliminates issues caused by low‑quality printed photos
Improves facial‑matching accuracy
Reduces repeated attempts and verification delays
This capability is essential for maintaining high security standards in a high‑traffic airport environment.
It captures full‑page document images in real time, supporting the airport's regulatory and traceability requirements.
Ensures complete auditability
Provides clear document records for incident review
Supports civil‑aviation compliance workflows
The MEPR500+ connects directly to the airport's security‑check platform to perform automated person–document–ticket matching.
Real‑time comparison results
Clear pass/fail decisioning for officers
Seamless synchronization of document data, boarding‑pass data, and match results
This creates a fully closed‑loop, high‑efficiency security‑check process.
The airport implemented a unified hardware and software architecture across all 38 lanes.
Consistent performance across the entire terminal
Centralized maintenance and management
Smooth large‑scale rollout with minimal operational disruption
This ensures stable, long‑hour operation even under heavy peak‑season loads.
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