This is kind of, well, bizarre. We’ll be flying to the U.K. around Christmas time this year. I’m not too sure about having my iris scanned.
Virgin Atlantic – Iris Scanning
There will soon be the introduction of Iris Recognition Immigration Systems (IRIS) at UK airports. This is a process of scanning an individual’s iris in a quick and non-evasive way. The reason for scanning the iris is that it is unique to the individual and does not change throughout a person’s lifetime. IRIS scanning is an automated border entry system that recognises passengers’ irises, allowing individuals travelling to the UK to pass through Immigration without showing their passport, speeding up time at Immigration control.
IRIS was initially trialled at London Heathrow’s Airport and due to the success of these trials, it has now been rolled out to Terminals 2 and 4 of Heathrow Airport, followed by Terminals 1 and 3 in summer this year.
From the summer until the end of the year, all UK airports will go live or be installed with IRIS.
The process:
Passengers will be asked to do a one-off enrolment at UK airports, undertake some immigration checks and have their iris pattern captured so that the information can then be captured on a secure UKIS Database. Once all checks have been completed and the passenger’s information verified, every time they enter re-enter the UK, they will be able to bypass the queues and proceed through Immigration control. Once their iris has been identified, they can pass through the security barriers and through to Departures in a quick and easy process.
Those eligible for iris scanning include; permanent residents, work permit holders, long term students and frequent travellers.