UK set for new airport change meaning passports won't be needed to enter

A new system for UK airports could see people not needing their passport to get through the border.

Queuing at the airport is always a drag. You anxiously wait in line before being called forward, and try not to smile so you look as much like your passport picture as possible.

After a tense few seconds, they hand you back your passport and wave you through.

But a new system could be introduced at UK airports which would make this a thing of the past.

Rather than the tense moments as your photo is scrutinised, you would simply be able to walk through without ever having to speak to anyone.

Of course, there is a bit more to the system than that.

That's because the plan is to install new high-tech e-gates which will use artificial intelligence and facial recognition to allow arrivals into the country.

The idea was described by Phil Douglas, the Director General of Border Force, as creating an 'intelligent border', adding that it could create 'much more frictionless facial recognition than we currently do'.

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He told The Times: "We will know a lot more information about people upfront. We will know if they've been in the UK before.

"We'll know what their compliance with immigration laws is. And we'll know if there's any records of them on our security systems.

"So there will be some people who won't be getting on the plane."

The announcement has come as the current system of various travel visas is being replaced with one system, called Electronic Travel Authorisation.

This means that people who are coming to visit the UK will pay for a travel pass, and then fill out a security questionnaire.

If you are the sort of person who routinely forgets your passport when you get to the airport, the new system might come as some relief.

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It might even be a way to get rid of passports altogether in the future, instead relying on the electronic system.

Nonetheless, it's probably not a bad idea to keep your passport with you all the same so you can have something concrete that won't go down if the system crashes.

A similar system to the one proposed for the UK has already been introduced by other countries.

In Dubai, facial recognition is currently available for 50 nationalities.

Trials using the new technology in the UK are set to begin as early as this year.