New facial recognition technology has been introduced for passengers at the arrivals gate at Cardiff Airport in Wales.

The new gates would be available for any traveller arriving from Europe or the UK with a biometric passport issues after 2006.

The new technology is designed to save time by scanning the passengers face against the digital photos in passports.

The voluntary system is progressively introduced in a trial at 10 airports in the UK, and is now operating at Manchester, Stansted and Bristol, and is being run in partnership between the UK Border Agency and Cardiff Airport.

UK Border Force assistant for Wales, Bob Lyne, said that Britain’s border security is among the toughest in the world, and by using the new technology, they are making the border even more secure.

Acting director for operations at the airport said that the use of the e-passport gates would enhance the customer experience for both Welsh passengers and inbound visitors alike by giving those who are able to use them a choice.

He continued by saying that the uptake of use since the launch had been positive with business travellers in particular opting for the more convenient e-passport gate option.

The e-gates would still check against security watch-lists in the same way as the usual manual gates, and passengers would still be subject to random manual checks.

Over 17 million biometric e-passports, which contain a facial image, have been issued in the UK since their introduction in 2006, with the next airports implementing the technology include Birmingham, East Midlands, Gatwick North and Luton.