No passports on Eurostar

According to a report in The Times, Eurostar plans to introduce no-passport St Pancras arrivals next year.

Eurostar passengers will be able to check in at the continental departure point without needing to scan their passports.  This system could also be introduced at UK arrival airports where the norm is to place one’s passport on the machine and then position oneself for a face generator.

The Government-backed system will scan a passenger’s face on arrival at St Pancras, and match it to an image already uploaded from a smartphone.

It is intended to speed up boarding, cut queues at the station and eliminate physical contact between passengers and staff in the interest of hygiene.

The technology, developed by Iproov, a British company, is to be introduced by next March for travel between the UK and France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Andrew Bud, Founder and Chief Executive, said: “This is a world first. Iproov is enabling train passengers to choose to travel without tickets or documentation in a way that is safe and secure. What started off as a project to reduce travel congestion and keep passengers moving is now going to help keep people safe in a pandemic world.”

Under the Eurostar technology passengers buying tickets will be offered an accelerated “pre-boarding” option. Before travelling, they will use the Eurostar app to scan their passport, then use their smartphone to scan their face.

A kiosk will also be installed at St Pancras to allow passengers without access to smartphones to complete the same process.  See also COMMENT in this issue

www.eurostar.com

www.iproov.com

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OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum

Johnny Walker, London

This is an answer to a piece in THE TIMES this morning (front page). If we have our Passports on our phones, but include telephone number and address, all you will need to do is go to the bar and swipe the information. Less than 10 seconds and no delay which would be the case with written information. Walker