Aviation securityHeathrow deploys face-recognition scanners

London's Heathrow deploying facial recognition scanners // Source: futuretravelexperience.com

Passengers going through terminals nos. 1 and 5 at Heathrow airport in London will have their faces scanned from September before they board their planes, airport operator BAA has announced.

Travelers will be enrolled into a facial recognition system, and the enrollment’s biometric information will be linked with the boarding pass on entry into the common user lounges at the terminals. Passengers will then be verified against their previous enrolment before boarding their flight. The Guardian reports that the technology — the software comes from biometric company Aurora in partnership with security company Atkins — aims to help prevent a scenario in which an international passenger swaps tickets with a domestic passenger in the departure lounge.

Atkins Passenger Authentication Scanning System (PASS2) has been present at Heathrow since 2008 to help with passenger processing. PASS2 will now be used in conjunction with the Aurora Imaging Recognition (AIR) system to deliver the facial recognition service.

The Guardian notes that trials carried out by BAA and the U.K. Border Agency (UKBA) showed that the technology offers an average verification time of 4.7 seconds per passenger.

A BAA spokeswoman said: “In line with UKBA requirements, we are introducing technology that will enable us to more accurately reconcile images of passengers flying domestically. For passengers this means a faster journey through ticket presentation and use of lounge facilities, which previously would only have been accessible to international travelers.”

PlanetBiometric reports that Aurora said that eighty-two units had been ordered for terminals nos. 1 and 5 “including some spares.” There will also be sixty handheld units given to operators.