Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average number of passengers per hour passing through a single manned Border Agency control point at Heathrow Terminal 3 at peak times, and how that rate compares with the flow through a single electronic passport point at the same terminal at the same time.
Answered on
19 March 2015
UK Border Agency was abolished in March 2013.
It is not possible to readily provide a direct like for like comparison of the average number of passengers passing through a single manned control compared to the average number passing through an ePassport (electronic) gate at peak times.
One assistant Border Force Officer is able to monitor a bank of five ePassport Gates, dealing with a greater volume of passengers, compared to one Border Force Officer operating a single manual desk.
Border Force has a programme in place to roll out new and faster ePassport gates at key UK ports including Heathrow. This will allow Border Force to deal with an increased number of passengers effectively and efficiently whilst maintaining border security.