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Air passengers to get face scans from this summer

Airline passengers will be screened with facial recognition technology instead of being checked by passport officers, it has been reported today.


In a trial beginning in the summer, passengers’ faces will be scanned and matched to the record on the computer chip in their biometric passports.


Border security officials say the machines will do a better job than humans at preventing ID fraud.  However, there are concerns that passengers will react badly to being rejected by an automated gate.


It is not yet known how many airports will take part, but if successful, the technology will be rolled out to all UK airports.


Details of the scheme emerged earlier this week at a London conference attended by internation biometrics experts, border control civil servants and the police.

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