The Public and Commercial Services Union has raised concerns about the reliability of new Home Office technology for checking e-passports.
Trials of gates equipped with facial-recognition scanning technology began on Tuesday at Manchester Airport, but the union said that the system has previously only been used in less demanding circumstances.
"We see there is a role for technology, but we have reservations about the role of this technology," a Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) spokesperson told GC News. "It has been trialled in Finland and Portugal, but the passenger traffic going through Manchester is much greater."
The union, whose members include immigration and customs officers working at Manchester Airport, believes the trials should have taken place in a closed environment before being launched in a busy airport terminal.
"We have anecdotal evidence that the machines have had to be recalibrated because they were denying too many people entry," the spokesperson said.
In addition, the union said that scanners should not be used to replace human control, because they are unable to pick up "tell-tale signs" of fraud, such as body language.
These concerns were echoed by the Liberal Democrats. A spokesperson said: "The government needs to make sure this technology is foolproof. The last thing we need is another transport hub grinding to a halt."
The Home Office said the Manchester system is already being used in several Portuguese airports. "Before we trialled it, we consulted the Portuguese, who said they were satisfied with how it was working. The UK Borders Agency interrogator and other experts have tested it for performance," said a spokesperson.
"In addition, before it went live, it was tested again by the UK Border Agency interrogator for accuracy and security. During the pilot, the border force will run its own tests on the system," the spokesperson added.
