Eurostar scraps rule for London passengers and it could mean longer queues
Eurostar has scrapped SmartCheck service for premium passengers in London. The high-speed train company is getting rid of a service that they previously said made travel with them ‘easier than ever’, it has confirmed this week.
As of February 13, passengers at London St Pancras will no longer be able to use contactless pre-departure gates, and instead will have to show their passports to border staff. The contactless SmartCheck gates were introduced as a way to speed up the boarding process.
They got rid of the need for manual passport checks. At the time, Andrew Bud, founder and CEO of iProov, said that the technology was "saving precious time and space at the border, streamlining the boarding process to one that’s far faster, more convenient, less crowded and stressful."
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The change is linked to the introduced of the European Union and its new Entry/Exit System (EES). Explaining the removal of the service, train operator Eurostar stated: "We're removing SmartCheck as we continue to make some changes at the station in preparation for the launch of the EU's new Entry/Exit System (EES)."
The operator detailed plans for station improvements to handle the upcoming changes. The new EES system is expected to increase processing times at St Pancras. British travellers will need to provide facial scans and potentially fingerprints when first entering the EU.
The EES system will apply to France, with Eurostar servicing Paris, as well as a string of other holiday hotspots, including the likes of Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Italy and Greece too.
"As part of these preparations, we're improving our border control area with new ePassport gates and extra passport control booths," Eurostar confirmed. The company added these upgrades will "help us ensure the border control process is as smooth as possible for passengers travelling in the coming months and after EES has launched."