UK pushes airport facial recognition
Wednesday, 13 May 2009 12:00 AM
Airport queues could be a thing of the past
The UK Border Agency is urging passengers to use new facial recognition gates available at Stansted airport.
The queue-busting technology was recently installed at the airport and the new machines are being trialled to improve border security and cut waiting time at arrivals.
Passengers travelling back to the UK via Stansted can have their faces scanned and checked against their passport photo in seconds.
If there is a match, the automatic gates allow the traveller across the border.
The gates can be used by any British or European passenger who has a new e-passport with an electronic chip.
"If you hold one of the new biometric passports, please take advantage of these gates and help to reduce the time you spend at passport control," said Barry McGill, assistant director for the UK Border Agency at Stansted.
"You don't need to register. All you need is a biometric passport issued since 2006."
Nearly 17 million biometric passports, which contain images, fingerprints or iris patterns, have been issued in the UK since their introduction in 2006.
And nearly 160,000 passengers have used the facial recognition gates so far at Stansted since the trial started in December.
The trial has been extended until October so the gates will be in use at Stansted throughout the busy summer holiday season.
by travelbite.co.uk staff
