Facial recognition at Manchester Airport

Manchester Airport has begun trialling new facial recognition software in an aim to improve security and reduce passenger congestion.

The new system can be used by adult biometric passport holders from the UK and around Europe, and woks by scanning the faces of the passengers and comparing them to the photographs that are digitally stored on their passports.

As part of the government's e-Borders programme, ministers believe that the facial recognition technology will aid the identification of criminals and terrorists attempting to enter the country illegally. At present, more than 45 million people throughout Europe have been issued a biometric passport which holds images and biological information on a microchip.

The trial will enable users to pass through unmanned gates that scans whether their passport has been tampered with before they are allowed on to the next gate. Here, travellers will then use a facial recognition scanner to read their face for clearance or be redirected to immigration officers for further checks.

Should the trials be successful, the system will be introduced at Stansted in September before being extended to all UK airports.

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