East Midlands Airport First To Use Facial Recognition Technology

East Midlands Airport (EMA) in Leicestershire is the first in the United Kingdom to introduce facial recognition technology, a new contactless system that will allow passengers to pass through electronic passport gates (eGates) without needing to present their passport.

Nationwide rollout The UK’s Home Office plans to extend the technology to all 13 UK airports with eGates by early 2027.

The contactless system is already in use in countries such as Dubai and Australia.

The government estimates that the new contactless system is up to 25% faster than the current process of physically scanning a passport.

East Midlands airport EMA’s Managing Director, Steve Griffiths said: “We’re delighted to be the first UK airport to have contactless eGates introduced by Border Force.