Brits will soon be able to enter the UK without scanning their passport
Key Points
- Britons travelling home from abroad will soon be able to re-enter the country without scanning their passport.
- New facial recognition technology is being rolled out to e-gates across the country and will be in most major airports next year.
- This technology allows Britons to navigate border control just by scanning their face, no passport required.
- The upgraded facial recognition border system will be expanded to support passengers from Europe, the United States, and others in future.
Britons flying home from abroad will soon be able to re-enter the United Kingdom without scanning their passport.
According to a report in The Times, new facial recognition technology is being trialled at e-gates which allows returning Britons to simply subject themselves to a face scan when entering the country, as opposed to scanning their passport.
This technology is being rolled out to Birmingham and East Midlands airports in the coming weeks, after which the e-gates in airports across the country are expected to be upgraded with this technology.
The paper reported that e-gates at major airports including Bristol, Edinburgh, Heathrow, London City, Gatwick, Luton, Manchester, and Stansted would support the upgraded system by early next year.
“It will mean we have a more secure border and a much faster transit through the airport. It’s quicker, it’s more modern, it’s more secure,” Border Force Director-General Phil Douglas told The Times.
While the system allows for quicker navigation of the British border, passengers will still need their passport with them to check in to and board their flight.
The system will reportedly also be expanded to other nationalities that use e-gates, including those with biometric passports from Europe and the United States.
Improvements to airline bookings
This report follows recent changes made by the government to how airlines allocate seats to passengers flying with children, as part of new rules to make the process of checking into a flight simpler and easier.
The government announced that airlines will now be required to seat children under 14 next to a parent for free, instead of charging them to sit together.
Additionally, airline passengers will now be able to correct simple mistakes on their bookings at no extra cost. Currently, fixing a spelling error in your name on your booking can incur administration fees of up to £40.
“Parents should not have to feel the pinch just to sit next to their child on a flight, or for amending a simple booking error,” said Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander.
