Passenger with wrong passport went through airport’s gates

ELECTRONIC border gates at a major UK airport were “spoofed” by a passenger using her cousin’s passport, a watchdog report revealed.

Inspectors witnessed the error at Stansted Airport in Essex. The report by David Bolt, chief inspector of borders and immigration, said: “A passenger managed to gain entry via an e-passport gate using her cousin’s passport.

“However, when the cousin tried to use the first passenger’s passport she was rejected, twice, at different gates. At this point, the first passenger returned to the gates to hand the correct passport to her cousin.”

The incident was spotted by officers who intercepted the two passengers. They were re-directed to a staffed immigration control desk.

First introduced in the UK in 2008, around 240 e-passport gates are in operation around the country, covering 21 air and rail terminals. The Government says they help speed up arrivals and improve border security. They can be used by UK and EU citizens, as well as those from some non-european countries, who have a “chipped” passport.

The gates use facial recognition technology to compare the passenger’s face to a digital image recorded in their passport. Details are also checked against a range of immigration and security watch-lists. Once the checks have been completed and cleared, the gates open automatically.

Border Force officers monitor the system and any travellers rejected by the gates are directed to staffed clearance desks.