Nearly one million
passengers have used the latest face scanning technology at
Britain's airports, the Home Secretary, Alan Johnson
announced today.
He confirmed the figure while visiting the state-of-the-art
facial recognition gates at Gatwick Airport's North
Terminal. More than 950,000 passengers have used the secure
self-service gates which scan biometric details and then check
them against a range of watch lists before allowing the passengers
to enter the country.
The facial recognition gates offer legitimate passengers the
choice between queuing at traditional, staffed passport controls
and using the self-service gates. More than 50,000 passengers have
used the gates at Gatwick since their introduction in August 2009.
The gates take seconds to scan each passenger's face
against the digital photo recorded in their passport. If there is
a match, the e-passport gates open, to allow the traveller across
the border. The gates are staffed by UK Border Agency officers who
examine any passengers rejected by the gate, as well as making
manual checks where appropriate.
The technology has already proved popular and successful at
Birmingham, Manchester, Stansted, Cardiff and Bristol Airports.
Speaking on his visit, Home Secretary Alan Johnson said:
"Facial recognition technology speeds up the passage of
legitimate travellers through immigration control, allowing UK
Border Agency officers to focus on high risk travellers and goods.
Our investment in the latest technology, which I have seen here
today at Gatwick, means we continue to be at the forefront of
border security.
"We have also introduced fingerprint visas, checking
those wanting to enter the UK against immigration and crime
databases, and compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals. In
addition, the e-Borders system allows the UK Border Agency to
count people in and out of the country and target terrorist
suspects, criminals and would-be illegal immigrants before they
can reach the UK."
Facial recognition is just one of many technologies at use within
Gatwick Airport to secure the border. Other technology includes
Cyclamen, which detects radiation in cargo at the border and Braun
Conpass, a full body scanner which enables the UK Border Agency to
see if a passenger is carrying illegal weapons or drugs on their
person.
Since January this year, technology used in customs checks at
ports has helped in the seizure of illegal drugs worth over £157
million.
On his visit, the Home Secretary met frontline UK Border Agency
staff, as well as detection dogs responsible for stopping smuggled
goods such as drugs, cash and endangered species. Since January
this year, UK border Agency officers working at UK Ports and
Airports have seized in excess of 447 million smuggled cigarettes
- representing a potential loss of more than £87 million in tax
revenue and illegal drugs worth over £212 million.
Andy
Flower, managing director for London Gatwick Airport, said:
"The introduction of the e-Passport system at London
Gatwick Airport will provide a more efficient process for
passengers entering the country
"The Home Office has enhanced the use of technology
which will help speed people through immigration controls, whilst
keeping our borders safe and secure."
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The facial recognition gates can by used by all passengers
from the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA) as long as they
are aged over 18 and hold a biometric e-passport. These biometric
e-passports have been issued since 2006.
2. Gatwick Airport handles over 34 million passengers a year.
3. Airports across the UK deal with over 100 million arriving
passengers each year. More than 87 per cent of travellers to the
UK are UK/EU/EEA citizens (source: Control of Immigration
Statistics 2006).
4. The UK Border Agency was launched on 3 April 2008 by the Home
Office, establishing a single force to protect our borders,
control migration for the benefit of the country, prevent border
tax fraud, smuggling and immigration crime and make quick and fair
decisions on asylum claims.
5. The UK Border Agency's ten-point delivery plan for
2009, which includes the roll-out of facial recognition gates, can
be found on the following link.
http://ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsfragments/10pointdeliveryplan
6. The UK Border Agency's strategy document A Strong New
Force at the Border can be read at the following link. http://ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/managingourborders/astrongnewforceattheborder/
230/2009
Contacts:
Home Office Press Office
Phone: 020 7035 3535
NDS.HO@coi.gsi.gov.uk