eGates at all UK airports now open to 10 and 11 year olds

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• Gordon says:

  25 Jul25 July 04:21

  Saw this on BBC news app a few days ago, Hopefully it will ease congestion, But can see many disgruntled child free adults staring sternly when a child is having difficulty using the gate, Some adults have issues! It’s no help that the system does not tell you what the problem is after two attempts….

• Truth Truth says:

  25 Jul25 July 05:49

  Will be travelling from BKK to LHR with my 10 year old tomorrow, so will be interested to see how this works in practice.

• zapato1060 says:

  25 Jul25 July 06:06

  Son just turned ten and last week got his new blue pass so it should make life a little easier.

  • Dirtyneedlebluesky says:

    25 Jul25 July 08:17

    I thought with kids you had it easier – no need to use the e-gates and fasttrack like experience to a manned desk! 🙂

  • Rob says:

    25 Jul25 July 08:35

    Mine just turned 12, I’m annoyed 🙂

    • KP says:

      25 Jul25 July 09:06

      There is a separate queue for ‘British families’ which is not just British citizens with kids but also British citizens travelling with non-British family members. I always use that queue.

      • George K says:

        25 Jul25 July 20:57

        Where is this queue? Never seen it at LHR T5 at least. My experience is that families are put in the manned booth queue which can include all sorts of people (for example, the guy in front of us was on a student visa and was being quizzed about the details of his course, contacts of professors, etc) which, like others have said, can sometimes only have one booth open.

        Most European airports I’ve been to open up a fast line for families…

• F says:

  25 Jul25 July 06:40

  I use my Irish one arriving at Heathrow as the British one always sends me to get questioned ‘why have you come to the UK’

• KP says:

  25 Jul25 July 07:30

  Coordinated with Prince George turning 10. (Not that he uses e-gates anyway…)

  • Rich says:

    25 Jul25 July 07:55

    It’s 2023 not 1923 KP!

    • KP says:

      25 Jul25 July 08:25

      Lol….

• Rich says:

  25 Jul25 July 08:01

  With API and the e-gate technology, plus the fact that only 0.0000something% of people attempt to cross borders via official entry points illegally anyway, it’s crazy that other countries don’t allow more people to use their e-gates, not least EU countries whose e-gates appear greatly under utilised.

  The UK’s list of accepted passports for e-gate use is impressive.

  • The Original David says:

    25 Jul25 July 09:16

    But how would the German border officials taunt us with passive-aggressive post-Brexit jibes if we could all just swan in through the e-gates? Clearly the passport stamps have to stay…

  • NFH says:

    25 Jul25 July 11:03

    The Schengen area, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania will soon allow all visa-exempt nationalities (including British citizens) to use e-gates when EES is implemented in 2024. These e-gates will take your fingerprints and photographs on first use and will replace stamping of passports. Your 90 days out of 180 days will be measured electronically instead of by passport stamps. ETIAS will follow later with a €7 e-visa fee, similar to the US’s ESTA.

    • The Original David says:

      25 Jul25 July 11:27

      “Soon” lol. I think the UK will have rejoined the EU before they manage to get EES and ETIAS rolled out.

  • lumma says:

    25 Jul25 July 11:12

    Some EU countries already allow British citizens to use egates, although you still need to stop at a booth for a stamp

  • Gavin says:

    25 Jul25 July 12:08

    It’s frustrating that the EU + Schengen zone (with a few exceptions) no longer allows UK passport holders to use the e-gates, while EU citizens and some others are free to use the e-gates in the UK. I queued for 1 hr 20 minutes at GVA last week while EU and Swiss citizens breezed through in minutes.

    Similar situation in Munich which allows a varied list of non-EU countries to use the e-gates, but not the UK.

    • Rob says:

      25 Jul25 July 13:46

      Spain lets UK citizens use eGates.

      • NFH says:

        25 Jul25 July 14:46

        This only saves time for the border guards. It doesn’t save time for passengers who still have to queue up for a stamp, verification of compliance with the 90/180 rule and potentially face questions about their trip.

        • lumma says:

          25 Jul25 July 15:28

          To be fair, in the case of Spain, I don’t think I’ve heard the immigration officers speak, never mind ask questions about my trip. Just find a blank page, stamp and pass the passport back

    • Numpty says:

      25 Jul25 July 15:11

      Portugal allows UK citizens to use egates too. Still need a passport stamp, but its pretty quick. In UK regional airports the manned desks are often quicker than egates, my non EU relations usually get through passport control faster than me.

    • John says:

      26 Jul26 July 05:22

      It was a struggle to get Spanish border officers to do the stamping, back when the UK was in the EU, Americans and Australians etc might not even get their passports opened on entry to Spain, which would cause issues if departing Schengen in Germany etc

• Travel Strong says:

  25 Jul25 July 08:05

  I’m in the ‘never works’ category. It is truly infuriating at the end of a journey!

  • Rhys says:

    25 Jul25 July 08:11

    Mine works about 15% of the time….

    • DeB2020 says:

      25 Jul25 July 10:12

      One time, whilst using an e-gate at T5 with my UK passport, the doors opened to let me into the country. Just as I was walking through, the doors slammed shut, trapping me in between them.

      Resulted in two immigration officers rushing over, as they thought that this Johnny Foreigner was up to something.

      They eventually did ask me to file a health and safety related complaint with their supervisor, but I had a car waiting to take me home after a long day trip and I couldn’t have been bothered at the time.

      The looks on their faces and reactions through the whole experience was priceless. Apparently there are innocent Johnny Foreigners.

• Dev says:

  25 Jul25 July 08:31

  “The UK processes more passengers through eGates than any country”

  Reminds me of the sketch from BBCs come fly with me … FlyLo selling fast track boarding to all passengers on the plane!

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