After a long journey, slowly snaking around the terminal in never-ending queues and fumbling in your bag for your passport at border control is never a good way to end a trip. When the UK’s eGates first became available to UK travellers, they were praised for offering a faster alternative to the human-run desks, but since then, they have faced criticism for frequent technology breakdowns, from machines refusing to accept passports or gates imprisoning unassuming jet-setters in between its doors. So the promise of a streamlined, technologically advanced border control system might just be the solution travellers have been hoping for.
A report by The Times claims that passports will no longer be needed in a new proposal from the UK’s border force. Using facial recognition, eGates will be able to identify travellers entering the country by matching faces with information stored in a central database. Instead of reading the data stored on a hardcopy passport, the technology will be able to identify passengers expected to enter the country and admit entry without any extra identification.
Automatic facial recognition system gates at an airportGetty Images
The proposed system was created in the hopes that new eGates would create “much more frictionless facial recognition than we currently [have]”, Phil Douglas, director-general of the UK Border Force, told The Times. Travellers will still be expected to queue, but instead of reaching for their passports, they will simply have to stare into the camera before being allowed to pass through the border.
The response to the news has been mixed, with some travellers welcoming the thought of a more reliable system. “I’m all for automating the process where possible – I’ve already seen the benefits at airports like Hartsfield Jackson in Atlanta,” Amber Port, audience growth manager at Condé Nast Traveller, tells us. “My family is spread out all over the world, from the UK and the US to South Africa, so anything that makes for a more seamless airport experience suits me.”
However, other travellers remain wary of its efficacy. “It’s not that I don’t like the idea of shorter queues at border control – it’s undeniably irritating when you’ve been flying for hours and have to queue further just to get out of the airport. But while the eGates aren’t perfect, they do work for the most part and have sped up the process,” Charley Ward, Condé Nast Traveller‘s commerce writer, admits. “My main concern, though, is that efforts and money would surely be better spent on airports’ security gates instead of border control. Unpacking your bags, dealing with liquids, grappling with electricals, taking off shoes, and then still needing a pat down? It’s by far the worst part of the airport for me. If UK airports are going to invest tens of millions into efficiency, that’s where they should spend money first.”
The new system will provisionally be trialled this year at a single UK airport with only a limited number of travellers permitted to take part. We’ll update this article when we have any updates on the proposal and its trial.
