Visitors to Hong Kong can make quick getaway as airport opens facial recognition channels
Passengers will need to have their picture taken every time they arrive in city
Visitors to Hong Kong will soon be able to make a quicker getaway from the city as the airport launches new electronic channels equipped with facial recognition technology on Tuesday.
To use the service, passengers will need to have their picture taken every time they arrive to verify their identity.
The Immigration Department said on Monday that anyone aged 11 or above, who holds a valid electronic travel document that complies with the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s requirements, will be able to use the new system without registering in advance.
The authority expected the measure to cut the average processing time from 50 seconds per person to 20 seconds. It was estimated that more than 5 million visitors annually would be eligible to use the system.
Raymond Lok Wai-man, assistant director responsible for information systems at the department, said the technology, which had already been adopted in many countries, would successfully recognise 99 per cent of a traveller’s face.
“The computer first compares the eyes of departing visitors [with the picture in the chip], followed by other facial features,” Lok said. “If the visitor wears a hat or glasses, the system might fail to compare all facial features. The visitor will be stuck at the gate pending further verification by our staff.”
