Phil Douglas, Border Force director general, told The Times trials of the technology, which will mean travellers will no longer need to present passports on arrival in the UK, would begin this year at unspecified airports.

In November, Douglas signalled the end of traditional border controls at airports, saying he was “looking to procure” new generation e-gates. These, coupled with the forthcoming UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (Eta) would speed up the immigration process, he said.

Speaking at the Airlines 2023 conference, Douglas explained: “Etas will enable us to make decisions about admission much earlier. You can see the days of the passport and visa falling away as new ways of fixing ID come in.”

Douglas told The Times the aim was to use “much more frictionless facial recognition than we currently do”. Border Force is examining airports like Dubai, where facial recognition is permitted for 50 nationalities.

Australia was another example, Douglas told the paper. He said he had applied for an electronic travel authorisation in advance and used his smartphone to read the chip in his passport. The image was then sent to the Australian authorities, enabling him to enter the country without his passport being examined.