Originally Posted by
mozilla
Yes, I have flown internationally to the UK with hand luggage only and the single time my passport was actually scanned was at the British immigration facility in the UK itself. At the gate, my passport was visually checked to see if the name matches the name on the boarding pass, and probably also to check that I have my passport with me, but it was not scanned.
APIS information was requested, BA offers a form for APIS data in "Manage My Booking" as soon as your reservation is ticketed.
As a data point, it was also BA for me that did not scan my passport at the gate when I
left the UK this week, just glanced at it. My full name as it appears on my passport doesn't fit on their online API form either, although the API specs seem to allow for greater length - the fact that nobody has told them to get their act together is oddly reassuring as it must mean no official body minds enough!