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Contactless border tech ends passport scans at UK airports
Published 14:13 4 Oct 2026 BST
Updated 14:38 4 Oct 2026 BST
Homenews
Contactless border checks set to arrive in all UK airports
Border Force is rolling out facial recognition technology for UK arrivals, and it could let British travellers walk through e-gates without scanning a passport at all.
The contactless border system launches at Birmingham and East Midlands airports within the following weeks, and is expected to reach every UK e-gate airport by early next year.
That includes:
- Bristol
- Cardiff
- Edinburgh
- Gatwick
- Glasgow
- Heathrow
- Manchester
- Stansted.
Travellers will still be expected to carry a passport to check in and board their flight.
Why the contactless border matters for passengers
Phil Douglas, director general of Border Force, said the change could cut border checks by a quarter.
"It will mean we have a more secure border and a much faster transit through the airport," he said.
"It's quicker, it's more modern, it's more secure."
The existing e-gates often stall when a passport chip is dirty or placed in the machine incorrectly.
Each airline will instead send a gallery of passport photos for that day’s arriving British passengers. These are matched to faces as travellers walk through the gate.
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