IRIS Immigration System now in operational pilot

[preiffer]

Eye-scanners are now running in both Terminal 2 & 4 of LHR.

Frequent travellers can register here for the pilot.

Obviously won't affect VS just yet, but I guess it'll creep into T3 soon enough:

IRIS will then be installed at the following terminals during 2006:

Heathrow Terminals 1 and 3
Gatwick North and South Terminals
Stansted
Manchester Terminals 1 and 2
Birmingham Terminal 1

That reminds me that there's a similar scheme in operation at Orlando International Airport that I saw last month.

http://www.flyclear.com

On enquiry I found that it was for US Citizens or residents only.

There were registration points at the exit from the Rapid Transit Sistem prior the the gates.

I've been a Privium member for a few years now and it made such a difference when getting the 6.30am flight to AMS and getting out of the airport quickly. It's never failed to recognise me yet, even when hung over and my contact lenses are a bit out of focus. Hopefully one day they'll all use the same system. [?]

[preiffer]

Latest update from Flying Club states T3 will be May 30th [y]

The service is already available at Manchester and will commence operation at London Heathrow Terminal 3 on 30 May 2006, before being rolled out accross the other London Heathrow terminals, London Gatwick, Stansted and Birmingham very soon.

You can register for this service in T3 Departures, just after security on the right hand side. The enrolment rooms are open daily from 08:00 to 18:30 and the process takes just five minutes as Home Office immigration officers record your passport information and UK immigration status on a database along with a photograph of your iris pattern.

Full story here - requires login

Also, link to BAA Application site.

[RichardMannion]

Love the typo on the release - 'accross', obviously the spell checker was out having a cup of tea.....

Thanks,
Richard

Am a big fan of this.

I flew to Frankfurt from Terminal 1 LHR on Saturday and registered for this - its painless and even with hungover and bloodshot eyes it accepted me and on returning through Terminal 1 on Sunday it was a painless 10 sec wait at customs avoiding the hideous queues!

[:)][:)]

Ive been using it for a couple of months. Its just great jumping past the queue.

[mitchja]

I'm going to sign up for this when I go though T3 next week [:)]

Anything to speed up arrival at LHR.....

Regards

This made me chuckle:

'The process has been designed by the Home Office. It's safe, efficient and is presently free.'

Judging by recent Home Office performance, we can probably be absolutely certain that it isn't safe, isn't efficient and won't be free for long!

Shame that I'm going through T3 on Sunday otherwise I'd register, I'll have to wait for my next trip in July.

Chris

For information, IRIS recognition is now restricted to adults of 18 years old and over. Unfortunately, this means that a family's speed of re-entry into the UK will be restricted to that of the usual channels.
However, my tip is for parents to enter through IRIS control first, and when little Johnnie cannot get through, then the kind immigration officer standing just nearby will take him to the adjacent desk for his passport to be checked. And, hey presto, you're through.

[Darren Wheeler]

Unfortunately, if everyone did that, it would defeat the purpose of having IRIS.

[HighFlyer]

I have to agree. I have been surprised lately at the sheer number of people using Iris, and many of them probably shouldnt, arriving in the booth appearing confused at where to look and holding the line up. I came back from Prague a few weeks ago and the line for Iris in T5 must have been 20 deep, and many took 5-10 minutes to get through as opposed to the 2-3 minutes it takes a seasoned traveller. Why are these people registered?

In this pilot stage i think Iris should only be for adult frequent travellers who go through UK airports at least a minimum number of times a year.

Thanks,
Sarah

Indeed, last year when I registered they were turning many people away saying they didn't qualify as they didn't travel frequently enough.

[HighFlyer]

When I registered they asked me how often I travelled and looked at the stamps in my passport for proof. I assume others had a similar experience? I wonder when things changed?

Thanks,
Sarah

I keep meaning to register for IRIS but every time either the queue looks too long or the call of the CH is too great.
How long does it take to register nowadadays and does it really save you time after the initial registration?

[mitchja]

It only took me about 5 mins to register (but that was a couple of years ago now)

Regards

We have used Iris in T3 four times this year and really glad we registered.
Especially when we arrived tired and weary on a Saturday evening and the queues in Immigration just went on and on, to walk up to the gate and be through in less than 30 seconds was fantastic.
Now that I have got a new passport does it mean I have to reregister or do they just update the Passport number on the system?

Originally posted by Darren Wheeler
Unfortunately, if everyone did that, it would defeat the purpose of having IRIS.

Isn't the objective to have everyone using IRIS (ultimately)? And the purpose isn't to reduce waiting times - it's to reduce staffing levels.

When we registered at LHR T1 in July there was a sign saying that 170,000 registrations had been made to date. If that means there is too much demand for IRIS use, then they should put more booths in.

[HighFlyer]

Now that I have got a new passport does it mean I have to reregister or do they just update the Passport number on the system?

Nope, you do not have to re-register. Your new passport details should be in the system. I got a new passport last month and have had no issues using IRIS.

When we registered at LHR T1 in July there was a sign saying that 170,000 registrations had been made to date. If that means there is too much demand for IRIS use, then they should put more booths in.

Yes, I do agree. They really need to add more IRIS booths at all airports so we can make proper use of the facility but until they do I would like to see some form of restrictions on those they allow through in order to speed up the process. While I am sure IRIS is there to save staff time it does ultimately help the seasoned traveller to get through immigration quickly but with 170k users to just two booths at T3?

Thanks,
Sarah

Originally posted by HighFlyer

Now that I have got a new passport does it mean I have to reregister or do they just update the Passport number on the system?

Nope, you do not have to re-register. Your new passport details should be in the system. I got a new passport last month and have had no issues using IRIS.

Thanks Sarah, thats good to know, at least I can whizz through next week.

Originally posted by HighFlyer
While I am sure IRIS is there to save staff time it does ultimately help the seasoned traveller to get through immigration quickly but with 170k users to just two booths at T3?

Thanks,
Sarah

One of which is ALWAYS broken/not in use whenever I arrive back into T3 [xx(]

Originally posted by mitchja
It only took me about 5 mins to register (but that was a couple of years ago now)

Regards

Thanks, I'll make a point of doing it next time.

[Darren Wheeler]

Originally posted by Tinkerbelle

Originally posted by HighFlyer
While I am sure IRIS is there to save staff time it does ultimately help the seasoned traveller to get through immigration quickly but with 170k users to just two booths at T3?

Thanks,
Sarah

One of which is ALWAYS broken/not in use whenever I arrive back into T3 [xx(]

IIRC - that's usually because they don't like being used by pax who haven't registered [ii]

Originally posted by HighFlyer
When I registered they asked me how often I travelled and looked at the stamps in my passport for proof. I assume others had a similar experience? I wonder when things changed?

I registered in July last year and didn't get asked anything about my travel frequency - but then they probably have the info about the number of times returning to the country from previous passport swipes...

Originally posted by HighFlyer
They really need to add more IRIS booths at all airports so we can make proper use of the facility

It'd be nice if each airport had at least one - I've been flying out of BRS a lot more (being as I only live 10 miles away) and it's soooo frustrating to be registered for IRIS but not even have the chance to use it! [:(!]

Cheers
Michael

It's about time the government settled for one system and had it everywhere. In Manchester they are trialling face recognition, IRIS is trialling at some airports. Stick with one system and implement it everywhere!