UK scraps passenger landing cards

Starting from May 20, international passengers arriving at UK air and sea ports no longer need to fill out Home Office landing cards. Since 1971, landing cards have been required of all passengers arriving by air or sea from outside the European Economic Area. The card records the purpose of the traveler’s visit and the duration of their stay. It also records whether or not a traveler has brought items into the UK that warrant inspection by custom’s authorities. The decision to scrap landing cards comes after the government announced it was extending the use of e-gates at UK borders to citizens of the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. Earlier, the gates, which scan e-passports, were reserved for European Economic Area citizens.