GUWonder

The average time for an automated border control gate set-up to process an entering EU/EEA citizen traveler at the EU and Schengen zone areas' airports of entry is worse than the average time for a border control officer to manually process the same person when not using the automated border control gates. Some of this slowdown is due to user lack of familiarity with the machines, but some of the delays are not related to user familiarity levels with the automated border control gates.

The automated border control arrangements are not being done to maximize passenger convenience.

flyerCO

However you cam multiple running 24/7. Try that with a human. The time at the machine is only a part of equation. Time waiting for one is generally next to nothing. Waiting for an officer, not so much.

aidy

its not automatic, still done by an officer who is sat behind the machines, doing the checks, normally upto 6 people per officer, its why its generally show as they have to click on allow/reject and the usual checks are done at this point too

Skatering

I always thought Schengen e-gates used facial recognition, while UK gates used humans.

Never had a problem with a UK gate. Schengen gates tend to lock me in them.

aidy

i think the same, i didn't clarify i'm just talk about UK

GUWonder

Given the set-up and settings, the automated border control machines are slower than the staffed counters when border control are dealing with citizens of their own country/zone.

The time waiting for the machines is not "generally next to nothing". Those frequently at the airport during the day know that the wait time is extremely variable but is generally not "next to nothing". Nor is the processing time "generally next to nothing".

Amusingly, as a US citizen at EU and Schengen airports of entry with these kind of machines for most EU citizens, I am generally better off in the "all passports" line than those EU passport users on my flights are when most of them follow the instructions to use the machines.

I see these machines in place in Europe for 3-50 flights of mine per month.

GUWonder

The FRT is not perfect. There are slow-down consequences arising from that too.

flyerCO

Theres some that do this, but not all. Most it's automated and the officer can intervene but unless they do its approved by criteria.

GUWonder

Either way, it's slowing passenger flows to a pace worse than what it is was when general citizens of the country/zone were not frequently being sent through these machines at airports of entry.

For example, for EU citizens at CPH and LHR, times to clear passport control have become more extreme than they used to be at comparable periods prior to the launch of the machines as a standard facility for entry by the general citizen population.

WilcoRoger

E-gates do not replace officers, but are an additional route to go. If you think you're processed faster with a human, just go to the booth. Case solved.

HEL - gate takes about 15 secs, tops. Human about the same (look at pax, look at passport - sometimes scanning passport - look at pax again, asking where do you travel? bye)

GUWonder

Are you saying the automated border control have been done with zero staffing and activity profile changes for the Finnish border guards working at the airports of EU entry with these machines? Given there has been a slow down in processing of passengers at LHR and CPH as a result of these machines, I would be surprised if HEL is an exception. If HEL has managed to be so great with these machines in terms of not slowing passenger flow at passport control, the question arises about what is so special about HEL that the outcome isn't consistent with the rest of the EU airports. Putting aside ethno-national chauvinism driven claims, what's the explanation for any proclaimed difference in the outcome?

People often underestimate time taken for activities they engage in. The average user at the HEL gates a couple of days ago were there fiddling around for longer than 15 seconds between showing up at the machines and getting to the otherside.

WilcoRoger

During the afternoon wave, all booths are manned. How does adding 10 or so e-gates slow down the traffic??

"Given there has been a slow down in processing of passengers at LHR and CPH as a result of these machines,"

Says you. Proof? (for both parts of your sentence)

The average user at the HEL gates a couple of days ago were there fiddling around for longer than 15 seconds

How did you determine the "average user"? Between 3 and 5 pm several thousand pax go from Schengen to non-Schengen for the afternoon Asian wave of flights. How many did you observe and time?

GUWonder

I got the info from others with a material interest in government sales.

If all the egates at HEL were replaced and instead staffed by Finnish Border Guards, are you saying it would be slower than, faster than, or the same speed as the current arrangement? I'd be surprised if it would be slower or even the same.

TFKEF

Does this not depend entirely on the traffic flow at each airport and how these gates are implemented? If they are purely additional to current manned booths I can't see how they can slow things down. I can see how they make sense particularly at airports with high peaks as it reduces the need for hiring a bunch of part-time border guards.

GUWonder

The profile of the traffic matters.

The traffic flow changes with the implementation of these machines even when the profile of the traffic is otherwise largely consistent with some comparable prior period.

Even if passengers were all equally proficient in attempting to interact with these machines as the most efficient of users, the FRT isn't perfect. That also has an impact on traffic flow to clear the border checkpoints.

The machines are peddled as part of a cost control approach but also as part of a "better security" approach. Part of the sales proposition is that trained border guards aren't all that great in their matching passport photo faces against the live human face being encountered and they "too frequently" "allow" whom the government doesn't want "allowed".

If you have time for a few hours at CPH, go observe what is going on at CPH with travelers next in line to use the machines in comparison to those travelers next in line for the staffed counters. Control for ethnic European appearance if you can't get a good eye on the passport cover. There are more sophisticated means used to measure this by those selling these machines, but there are crude methods for those with a process engineering mindset to figure this stuff out with a reasonable degree of confidence on what is happening.