Plans to introduce contactless corridors in UK airports

Professor James Ferryman (Department of Computer Science, University of Reading) is a world-leading expert on border security and contactless corridors. He is a member of the Home Office’s Border Vision Advisory Group (BVAG).

Prof. Ferryman said: “The planned roll out of contactless corridors at UK borders is fantastic news for travellers. By integrating a range of ground-breaking technologies including registration via a smartphone app and biometric capture on the move on arrival at the border, travellers will be able to simply exit the plane and cross the border without stopping. Not only will queuing be a thing of the past, contactless corridors will enable travellers who otherwise cannot use existing eGates at airports, such as those in wheelchairs or in family groups, to pass effortlessly and quickly across the border.”

Prof. Ferryman coordinated the EU PROTECT project (www.protectproject.eu) on the development and evaluation of a ground-breaking biometric [contactless] corridor which was demonstrated with Border Force in London St Pancras train station.

Prof. Ferryman is a key partner in the current follow-on EU D4fly project (www.d4fly.eu) which includes the Home Office as a partner. A demonstration of the biometric corridor was conducted in Portsmouth (in collaboration with Border Force) in June 2022.