aristoph

Shame it's such a limited trial at the moment.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6211122.stm

JimmyTheJock

Why do people presume...as they seem to...that this would in any way diminish the risk of a terrorist attack?

Surely those bent on such actions would become "accredited" and thus gain all the dubious benefits that this would entail.

IMHO the additional security checks have not caused me much additional hassle...over and above that which already existed...and in any event I doubt they will do anything to prevent the next attack...wich will inevitably come.

Such processes always address the cause of the last problem...rarely the cause of the next...which if the terrorists are at all sensible will be rather different.

Swanhunter

I wonder what CX flight it is?

aristoph

Lots more details now. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6214592.stm System will be rolled out to all passengers through T3. Not sure how this ties in with IRIS but it will be a lot easier to clear with a fingerprint than trying to line up your eyes to those stupid cameras!

710 77345

Anyone going to Miami?
More info at www.misense.org

rrgg

Not all the crazies will become "accredited."

I agree that measures are usually reactive, not proactive. Nevertheless, they prevent the copy-cats. Also, not all security measures are known to me or the public. Are you saying you have full awareness?

Morland

I read the misense page, and am really not sure what it offers. For example, on departure, "Check in as normal...place your finger on the scanner...proceed to airport security" - i.e. go through the security queues like normal..?

On arrival, go through the misense gate at T3 to skip the queue - just like you can with IRIS?

I'm not sure at all what this offers over IRIS for the passenger. Clearly there are some extra security measures for the airport or airline (e.g. fingerprint at aircraft boarding) but if I were IRIS-registered, why would I sign up for misense? A fingerprint might be faster, but you'll need your misense card, and I thought iris scanning was supposed to be more secure than fingerprints... Am I missing something?

BAAZ

Well, AFAIK IRIS is only for arriving pax and you aren't subjected to any background checks before being accepted. You're right for arriving pax; I can't see any advantage over IRIS other than possibly ease of use.

But Misense also appears to be for departing pax. The incentive seems to be speedier passage through security (also given that nowadays there aren't any other material checks to be made, and if you OLCI and PYOBP the only other queue you face is fast bag drop which Misense certainly won't bypass). The thesis seems to be that once you pass personal background checks, you're deemed to be less of a security risk, and the fingerprint/biometric bit is just to check you are who you say you are.

So either
1. it enables you to bypass security scanning because you're the kind of person who can be trusted not to bring any dangerous stuff on board, or
2. it enables the authorities to keep better track of who is where at any time, without the risk (?) of forged passports, boarding passes, etc passing through security.

If 2, where would you save time? It isn't as if there are long queues at passport controls for departing pax. The BBC website article suggests it's 1, i.e. "...can be fast-tracked past queues through security...". All a bit of a mystery really.

Travel The World

It appears that the objective of miSense is to ensure that the person that boards the aircraft is the same person that checked in and went through security, therefore stopping people swapping boarding cards once airside. For example swapping your boarding card with an international arriving transfer passenger, who then takes your domestic flight, and so enters the UK with no passport check. You then take their international transfer with your passport. (They do this at LGW N using digital photos and a manual check!)

miSenseplus then allows you IRIS-type fast-track/automated immigration, at both your destinantion and on return to the UK. What does this mean for Project IRIS ?

I have to say I don't like the idea of "handing-over" my 10 fingerprints, both irises and face scans. Why do they need all that information ?

This all has nothing to do with fast-track security, as is being mis-interpreted in the press.

The third part (just announced) is miSenseallclear, which "involves the forwarding of interactive Advance Passenger Information (iAPI) for analysis by UK authorities, prior to passengers boarding their flight." What this means is that based on your fingerprint you may be denied boarding.
This is serious stuff, fingerprint biometric technology, as has been pointed out already, is less accurate than iris and has an error rate of around 10% (on a good day). That means that you have around a 1 in 10 chance of being denied boarding. And don't think that the airline staff at the boarding gate will be able to override the decision, as they won't know why you have failed the biometric check. If your fingerprint happens to be close to a dodgy one that's on file, then you are in for a frustrating time.