UK airports are swapping passports for contactless ‘face scanners’

Facial recognition: to some people it represents a terrifying Orwellian tech-addled future, to others it is the key to a society that operates on ultimate efficiency. However you feel about it, facial scanning is already a big part of every day life (ever used an iPhone?), and it’s only going to become more prevalent in the future. 

Soon passengers arriving at some British airports will no longer need to show their passports when re-entering the country, as select airports will be swapping passport gates with contactless facial scanners. E-gates will use facial recognition technology to identify returning travellers, meaning they won’t have to get their passports out (though passengers will still need to carry passports when travelling). 

This tech is being introduced as airports try to improve efficiency at border control and reduce queue times. The Times reported that contactless e-gates will first arrive at Birmingham and East Midlands airports in autumn 2026, before being rolled out to Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, London City, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle and Stansted airports early next year. 

Phil Douglas, director general of Border Force, told the Times that the new contactless system could cut border waiting times by 25 percent. He said: ‘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.’

At first only British passport holders will be able to use the contactless e-gates, but the goal is to roll them out to other nationalities with biometric passports including across Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the US. 

The roll-out of this technology comes after it was successfully trialled for three weeks at Manchester airport in October last year. 

More tech is coming: Deliveroo is rolling out these delivery robots across the UK. 

And you can now order a self-driving taxi in London.