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Flying within the UK and Ireland

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The technology used to process passengers on flights to UK and Ireland destinations from Heathrow has been enhanced.

Biometric image testing

If you are departing on a UK or Republic of Ireland flight, or transferring from an international to a UK or Republic of Ireland flight, a facial biometric image will be captured before you pass through to the lounge.

Your questions answered

To strengthen the security of the United Kingdom border, airports that operate common departure lounges must comply with UK Border Force conditions that are necessary to prevent any circumvention of UK immigration controls. This includes a requirement to capture a facial biometric for each domestic passenger on entry and exit of a departure lounge in order to verify their identity.

When you present your identification or boarding card at security you'll be asked to face the camera so an image of your face can be captured and a biometric template created which is unique to you. Before proceeding to your gate another image is taken enabling your biometric template to be compared to verify your identity.

Your facial image and biometric template are kept secure and are only kept for as long as is necessary before being securely destroyed. Your personal information shall only be used for the purpose of border security and we will only pass it to law enforcement agencies if we are legally required to do so.

These security measures are a Government requirement. Passengers who refuse to provide their data, or to validate it prior to boarding, will be denied entry and will not be able to board their flight.