Travellers from Bermuda who encounter a problem with new self-service check-in kiosks at JetBlue’s T5 terminal in JFK International Airport should opt for a nearby kiosk assistance desk, not the general help desk, for a speedier solution.

That is the advice from the airline, which was made aware of difficulties encountered by a Bermuda resident when using one of the recently installed electronic kiosk terminals at the new-look lobby at the airport.

The traveller said they had no problem when making a US domestic flight, but when they were checking in for an international flight the kiosk did not read their Bermuda passport and instead they were directed to the lengthy full service line.

JetBlue operates direct flights between Bermuda and New York and Boston, and in July it introduced the new self-service kiosks at JFK Airport. The kiosks aim to speed up travellers’ passage through the check-in area by allowing them to check themselves in.

Informed of the difficulty encountered by the traveller from Bermuda, a JetBlue spokeswoman said: “The new kiosks are capable of reading passports and are an enhancement from the previous technology.

“In certain situations, the kiosk may fail to match a customer’s passport to their record, which can happen for a number of reasons, such as an incorrect name match. This is something we are aware of and are continuously working on.

“However, when this occurred the customer should have been directed to kiosk assistance, not the help desk, since they were already engaging in the self-service process.

“The kiosk assistance line offers a shorter queue than that of the help desk, formerly full service. It seems that in this case, the customer was unfortunately directed to the incorrect queue.”

JetBlue also offers mobile boarding passes for international flights. The spokeswoman said the only issue a traveller might encounter with these is if they are departing from a non-US international city where the local airport is not equipped with mobile boarding pass scanners.