SAN DIEGO.- Thousands of users will save time in their customs declaration when they arrive to the San Diego airport, a benefit from the "Global Entry" Trusted Traveler Network.

Today, CBP officially introduced the automated self-service kiosks that travelers will use to "skip the waiting line" and speed up the identification process in international flights.

San Diego International Airport is the newest of 27 airports nationwide with Global Entry technology, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

"Global Entry allows us to speed up the customs declaration of low risk travelers while our officers focus on the ones whose information we don't know" stated Chris Maston,

director of CBP's San Diego Field Office.

This entry port welcomes around 210,000 international travelers every year, a number that is expected to go up in 2012 as flights from Japan and a number of Mexican cities join the list of destination points.

"Our main goal is to improve the services offered to travelers" said Thella Bowens, President of the San Diego County Regional Airport during a press conference. "Thanks to this program, travelers will have more time to enjoy San Diego".

The good news for the border community is that SENTRI holders qualify for the Global Entry program.

There are approximately 180,000 SENTRI card holders in the area.

Using the new program is very simple.

After arriving to the airport, identify the Global Entry kiosks. Program users can insert either their passport into a document reader. The system will then ask for their fingerprints for authentication.

Once this is done, the user will have his or her picture taken after which they will have to answer a number of questions to make their customs declaration. The system will issue a receipt which is to be presented to a CBP officer before leaving the inspection area.

The process takes less than 5 minutes.

The Global Entry fee is of $100 for a 5 year membership, while SENTRI users can register through the internet with no extra cost.

To apply, travelers must fill a form online and wait for an interview appointment, a process similar to the SENTRI card application.

"Global Entry" started as a pilot program in 2008 at the John F. Kennedy International in New York, the George Bush Intercontinental in Houston and the Washington Dulles International. Since then, travelers have used the kiosks approximately 2.7 million of times in over 20 airports.

alexandra.mendoza@sandiegored.com

Translation by Karen Balderas (karen.balderas@sandiegored.com)