Eurostar Launches Contactless Check-In to Reduce Queues

Have you ever waited in an hour-long Eurostar queue at London's St Pancras station? Thanks to a new contactless check-in method, that cumbersome experience may soon be a thing of the past.

Eurostar has officially launched its SmartCheck biometric gates for Business Premier and Carte Blanche customers at London’s St Pancras International Station.

These contactless pre-departure gates allow Eurostar passengers to avoid UK border checks by scanning their face alongside their tickets and passport on the iProov app; they will then be able to use the dedicated SmartCheck corridor with its walk-past facial biometric checkpoint.

Passengers will then proceed through bag security checks as normal, and will still need to complete one passport check by the French border control before heading to the lounge or boarding the train.

This will expedite the pre-boarding process by eliminating the need for manual passport checks to exit the UK.

Since Brexit, queues at the busy London hub have been known to take upwards of two hours, forcing Eurostar to sell fewer tickets.

It is hoped the new system will help curb queues and slash travel times for Business Premier and Carte Blanche passengers.

It is unclear if or when contactless check-in will be made available to Standard and Standard Premier ticket holders.

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