kabarsula No passport needed: UK begins rollout of contactless airport e-gates bandar SLOT INDONESIA

Forget reaching for your passport at the border. Travellers arriving in the UK will soon be able to walk through airport e-gates without showing or scanning their passport at all.

The UK has begun rolling out new contactless e-gates that use facial recognition to identify passengers automatically, with the technology expected to reach airports across the country by early 2027.

East Midlands Airport became the first UK airport to introduce the technology on Tuesday.

Facial recognition technology

Under the new system, passengers will have their photograph taken automatically as they approach an e-gate. Facial recognition technology will then check the image against immigration, travel and passport information held by UK authorities.

If the passenger is successfully verified, the barrier will open automatically – meaning there is no need to take out or scan a physical passport.

Testing found the contactless system could be up to 25 per cent faster than the existing passport-based process, according to UK officials.

Travellers shouldn’t leave their passports at home just yet, however. Passengers will still need to carry their physical passport when travelling and could be asked to scan it if further checks are required.

Some passengers may also be directed to a Border Force officer, while officers will continue to monitor e-gates and assist travellers where needed.

Phil Douglas, director general of Border Force, described the introduction of the technology as a “win for travellers” coming to the UK.

“By using state-of-the-art technology, we are making journeys smoother and faster, all while fully maintaining the UK’s robust border security,” Douglas said.

“Our digital transformation also builds on our work this summer to extend e-gates to children aged eight and above, making life a little easier for families.”

Airports UK chief executive Karen Dee said the move was “excellent news for the passenger”.

Smooth rollout

“It is vital that we have the fast, efficient borders that arrivals into the UK now expect, and we will work closely with our members and government officials to ensure a smooth rollout,” she said.

East Midlands Airport managing director Steve Griffiths said the airport was “delighted” to become the first in the UK to introduce the contactless gates.

“As an airport committed to providing an effortless travel experience, we welcome any technological innovation that can help to safely make our customers’ journeys smoother, swifter and simpler,” Griffiths said.

“This complements changes that we carried out to our immigration hall recently to help improve the flow of arriving passengers through the area.”

The technology is expected to be rolled out across UK airports by early 2027.

Standard e-gates are currently available at Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, London City, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle and Stansted airports.