Eurostar passengers can now keep away from UK border checks by having their face scanned
July 19, 2023
•
2 min learn
Eurostar passengers can now keep away from UK border checks by having their face scanned
Reward your inbox with the TPG Every day publication
Be a part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s specialists.
Some Eurostar passengers passing by way of London’s St. Pancras Worldwide Station will now be capable to use a facial verification system as an alternative of handbook ticket and passport checks.
The brand new expertise, known as SmartCheck, goals to cut back passport and ticket test traces at St. Pancras and is presently being examined for Enterprise Premier and Carte Blanche clients. Eurostar hopes to roll out the expertise for extra clients if early trials show profitable.
Eligible passengers are directed to make use of an app earlier than touring to scan their journey paperwork and confirm their face and ticket. As soon as on the station, they’ll use particular screens to scan their face earlier than continuing by way of check-in.
Whereas SmartCheck might be used to confirm passports and tickets, baggage will nonetheless be scanned by the safety workers. Border officers at your vacation spot will even proceed to test passports for now.
Associated: The right way to earn loyalty rewards with European prepare journey
“SmartCheck in St Pancras Worldwide station is an answer for a sooner and seamless check-in expertise,” Eurostar CEO Gwendoline Cazenave stated. “By introducing SmartCheck, we change into the primary rail journey operator to undertake biometric face verification. This innovation will improve our buyer departure journey, which is essential to supply Eurostar’s distinctive journey expertise.”
Common Eurostar vacationers will little question embrace the efforts to hurry up the check-in course of at St. Pancras; the station has seen check-in instances enhance after French border officers launched further checks post-Brexit.
Whereas Eurostar is the primary rail operator to make the most of facial recognition on this method, it is not the primary time that the expertise has been used inside the journey sector within the U.Ok. London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) started testing facial biometric scanners in 2019, earlier than dropping the challenge when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.
Associated readings:
Featured picture by CHESNOT/CONTRIBUTOR/GETTY IMAGES
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed listed here are the writer’s alone, not these of any financial institution, bank card issuer, airline or lodge chain, and haven’t been reviewed, accepted or in any other case endorsed by any of those entities.
