Passenger anger over Birmingham ePassport gate closures
19.09.11
Passengers at Birmingham Airport have complained of long delays border controls – because there are not enough staff to monitor the new ePassport barriers, the Mercury reports. The hi-tech gates have been gradually introduced across the country by the UK Border Agency (UKBA), at a cost of £9 million. They use facial recognition to compare the passenger to pictures stored electronically on their ePassport and were designed to speed up arrivals.
The gates went live at Birmingham Airport in August 2009, but returning holidaymakers claim they are now often closed. An airport worker told the newspaper: ‘Delays are worse, not better, in the past 12 months. The UKBA has not got enough officers to man them and the numbers have just been cut again. It’s bad for passengers but it’s worse for the UKBA people, as they are overworked and the public are giving them a lot of grief. The gates cost about £1 million to install in Birmingham and they have been used occasionally, but a lot of the time they are closed.’
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