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When we got back from Spain over 2 weeks ago, there was a very long queue at passport control at Gatwick; while we were more or less patiently waiting in the queue, we saw a guy walking past all of us and going to an automatic barrier, and getting through in seconds.
I wondered if it was an eye recognition system like the one they have at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, and was determined to find out.
And the net provided an answer.
It is indeed an iris recognition system (called, brace yourselves, IRIS) that is being implemented by the Border and Immigration Agency, and, unlike the one in Amsterdam, it is free of charge (so far).
At present it is only available in 4 British airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham).
As we were flying from Gatwick last Thursday and we had some time before the flight, we went to the enrolment room and signed up to the scheme. They took our passport details, then a picture of us and finally we stared into a screen until our eyes matched the dots on the display. It took about 5 minutes to register.
The same evening on the way back from Dublin, we tried the automatic barrier at passport control, and it worked!! We were welcomed back into the country in a matter of seconds!
More information on the Home Office website and in this Telegraph article. (I know I shouldn't really advertise it as once it is well known, the queues will get longer, but hey I'm a generous soul!)
I wondered if it was an eye recognition system like the one they have at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, and was determined to find out.
And the net provided an answer.
It is indeed an iris recognition system (called, brace yourselves, IRIS) that is being implemented by the Border and Immigration Agency, and, unlike the one in Amsterdam, it is free of charge (so far).
At present it is only available in 4 British airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham).
As we were flying from Gatwick last Thursday and we had some time before the flight, we went to the enrolment room and signed up to the scheme. They took our passport details, then a picture of us and finally we stared into a screen until our eyes matched the dots on the display. It took about 5 minutes to register.
The same evening on the way back from Dublin, we tried the automatic barrier at passport control, and it worked!! We were welcomed back into the country in a matter of seconds!
More information on the Home Office website and in this Telegraph article. (I know I shouldn't really advertise it as once it is well known, the queues will get longer, but hey I'm a generous soul!)
