Eurostar introduces facial scanning for UK passport holders to avoid manual checks

SmartCheck system will be available to Business Premier and Carte Blanche passengers

A person uses the new SmartCheck facial check-in system at the Eurostar terminal in St Pancras station, London. PA

London Eurostar passengers will now able to avoid manual ticket and passport checks by UK officials thanks to a new facial recognition system.

The technology has been launched at St Pancras station and is aimed at easing congestion.

To be eligible for the new system, passengers must use an app before travel to scan their identity documents and verify their faces and tickets.

At the station, they walk in front of a screen, which scans their faces.

If they are approved they can proceed through doors which open automatically.

The SmartCheck system, developed by iProov, is available to Business Premier and Carte Blanche passengers.

Bags are still being scanned by security staff and French border officials are continuing to check passports.

It emerged earlier this year that Eurostar was being forced to leave hundreds of seats empty on trains to and from London to avoid long queues at stations.

The situation has since improved but dozens of seats are not being offered for sale on some services.

Enhanced post-Brexit checks carried out by French border officials have significantly increased the time it takes to process passengers at the station.

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“Providing a seamless station experience to our customers is a priority for Eurostar,” the company's chief executive Gwendoline Cazenave said.

“We continue looking for solutions to increase capacity in stations and simplify the passengers’ flows.

“SmartCheck in St Pancras International station is a solution for a faster and seamless check-in experience.

“By introducing SmartCheck, we become the first rail travel operator to adopt biometric face verification.

“This innovation will enhance our customer departure journey, which is crucial to provide Eurostar’s unique travel experience.”

Andrew Bud, chief executive of iProov, said: “The roll-out of SmartCheck in Eurostar’s Business Premier check-in at London St Pancras is significant because it clearly demonstrates how facial biometric technology can be used to manage border control in a smarter and more efficient way, to benefit both organisations and passengers at scale.

“By creating a biometric corridor, we are moving security checks away from the station, saving precious time and space at the border, streamlining the boarding process to one that’s far faster, more convenient, less crowded and stressful, yet even more secure.”

Heathrow Airport began trialling facial biometric scanners in 2019 but the project was dropped when passenger numbers collapsed due to the coronavirus pandemic.