UK airports to use facial recognition at e-gates, so returning Britons needn't scan passports
Border Force is introducing facial-recognition "contactless borders" at Birmingham and East Midlands airports in the coming weeks. All airports with e-gates are due to have them by early next year.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2Returning British passengers will no longer need to scan their passports at airport e-gates, because the gates will instead recognise their faces under new "contactless borders" technology. Daily MirrorL “Returning passengers who use the e-gates and have their face captured on camera will not have to scan their passport.” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Daily MailR “Brits will be able to use their faces as a passport when returning to the UK” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Mixed · 2The system is being introduced at Birmingham and East Midlands airports in the coming weeks, and every e-gate at UK airports is due to have the upgrade by early next year. Daily MailR “Every e-gate at UK airports is set to get the upgraded system by early next year.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Daily MirrorL “will have the upgraded system by early next year” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Left · 1The airports with e-gates are Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, London City, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle and Stansted. Daily MirrorL “Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, London City, Luton, Manchester , Newcastle and Stansted airports” Read at Daily Mirror ↗
Mixed · 2Each airline will send border control a gallery of passport photos of the British passengers arriving that day, and the e-gates will check faces against it. Daily MirrorL “each airline will transmit a gallery of arriving British passengers' passport photos to border control at each airport” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Daily MailR “Flight operators will send a gallery of passport photos of British passengers arriving at UK airports that day to Border Control.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Left · 1Phil Douglas, director general of Border Force, said this makes the check "not a one in 60 million check, it's a one in tens of thousands check", and that the system is "quicker, it's more modern, it's more secure". Daily MirrorL “it's not a one in 60 million check, it's a one in tens of thousands check.”“It's quicker, it's more modern, it's more secure.” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Mixed · 2The change is expected to speed up e-gate processing by up to 25 per cent. The current process typically takes 20-25 seconds, but it can take longer when passengers misplace their passports or the passport chip is dirty and unreadable. Daily MirrorL “contactless gates could speed up border control by up to 25 per cent.” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Daily MailR “Usually it takes around 20-25 seconds, but often it takes longer as passengers make mistakes while using them.” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Mixed · 2If a face is not recognised, the gate will ask the passenger to scan their passport, and if that fails they will be sent to a Border Force officer at a manned desk. Daily MirrorL “If that fails, they will be directed to a Border Force officer at a manned desk.” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Daily MailR “If that fails, they'll be directed to a manned desk and do it the old-fashioned way.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Mixed · 2Passengers must still travel with their passports, which are needed to check in and board a flight. Daily MirrorL “Passengers must travel with their passport because it will be needed to check in and to board the plane.” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Daily MailR “passengers will still need to bring their passport for travel to use it to check in and board the plane.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Mixed · 2At first the system will work only for British passport holders. The longer-term aim is to extend it to the other nationalities already allowed to use e-gates. Daily MirrorL “will work only for British passport holders at first.” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Daily MailR “developers are aiming to extend it to other nationalities who are already authorised to use the current e-gates.” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Mixed · 2Manchester Airport ran a three-week trial last October. The Home Office said passengers typically went through faster and had a better experience. Daily MirrorL “The technology had a successful three-week trial at Manchester airport last October.” Read at Daily Mirror ↗ Daily MailR “Manchester Airport was used for a successful three-week trial run in October last year” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Right · 1The Daily Mail adds that the e-gates date from 2008, that children aged eight or over and at least 120cm have been able to use them since 8 July, and that Civil Aviation Authority figures show a record 61 million passengers in UK airports in the first quarter of this year. Daily MailR “The current e-gate system is nearly 20 years old, introduced in 2008.”“a record 61 million passengers passing through UK airports in the first quarter of this year” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Right · 1Douglas also said the aim is border security and that the change will let officers move from routine immigration work to crime, safeguarding and drugs. Daily MailR “We are doing this for reasons of border security.” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left1 outlet
- Framing
- A practical consumer story: the end of showing a passport and shorter queues, with Border Force's Phil Douglas as the main voice.
- Emphasis
- Technical detail on how the gallery check works and the fallback steps if a face isn't recognised.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not mention the e-gates' age, the record passenger numbers, the new rule on children using e-gates or the shift of officers to other work, all in the Mail.
- For example
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“Britons will no longer need to show their passports when flying back into UK airports” — Daily Mirror
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- A story about convenience and national progress: 'use their face as their passport', with Britain 'leading the way in Europe'.
- Emphasis
- Context on rising passenger numbers, e-gate access for children and Border Force's plan to redeploy officers to crime and security work.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not mention South Korea among eligible nationalities or the chip problems that slow current gates.
- Charged language
- “the old-fashioned way”
- For example
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“Dubai and Australia already have the facial recognition tech at their borders, but Britain is leading the way in Europe.” — Daily Mail
What every side reports
- Facial-recognition 'contactless borders' start at Birmingham and East Midlands airports in the coming weeks.
- All e-gate airports are due to have the upgrade by early next year.
- It works only for British passport holders at first.
- Passengers still need their passports to check in and board.
- A three-week Manchester trial took place last October.
Where accounts differ
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Which nationalities can currently use e-gates
- Left
- The Mirror lists biometric passports from Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the US.
- Right
- The Mail lists citizens of the EU, US, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore, and does not mention South Korea.
Left1 article
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End to showing passport at UK airports thanks to facial recognition
Neutral Explains the change as shorter queues and a more secure border, led by Border Force quotes.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right1 article
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Mixed Upbeat on the change as a first in Europe, and adds context on passenger numbers and security redeployment.
- 4 Oct 10:15 First Daily MirrorL End to showing passport at UK airports thanks to facial recognition
- 4 Oct 10:17 +2m Daily MailR Brits to be able to use their face as their passport as new technology means they won't have to scan documents flying back into the UK
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.