The Home Office has confirmed that from Wednesday, July 8, children aged eight and nine years old will be allowed to use eGates at 13 UK airports when returning to the country. The change reduces the minimum age from 10, enabling up to 1.5 million more children to use the automated border control gates, which the government says will speed up journeys for families during the summer holiday season.
Eligibility and Requirements
To use the eGates, children must be at least 120cm (3ft 11in) tall and accompanied by an adult. The height requirement ensures they can be seen by biometric scanners that use facial recognition technology to verify their identity against their passport photo. The expansion applies to over 290 eGates across 13 major UK airports, as well as at ports in Brussels and Paris where juxtaposed checks are in place.
Under the previous rules, passengers under the age of 10 were banned from using eGates, forcing families to queue for manual passport inspections, which typically take longer. The Home Office stated that using an eGate takes “just minutes,” and the change is expected to reduce queue times at passport control.
Impact on Summer Travel
The rule change comes into effect just in time for the peak summer holiday season, aiming to alleviate stress for families traveling with young children. Minister for Migration and Citizenship Mike Tapp said: “Travel with young children can be stressful for parents. By expanding eGate access, more families can experience a swifter and smoother journey home – freeing up precious time this summer holiday season. We are delivering continued improvement to the passenger experience, while keeping our borders safe and secure.”
The eGates are available to British citizens and nationals from the European Union, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States.
List of 13 Airports
The airports where the new rule applies are: Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, London City, London Heathrow, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, and Stansted.
The Home Office added: “The announcement is the latest step in UK border transformation, delivering smooth journeys for passengers and protecting border security. As of February, the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme has been enforced, providing a fuller picture of those seeking to come to the UK. Almost 25 million (24.8 million) ETAs have been issued since their introduction. The ETA scheme takes us one step closer to a contactless border. Contactless border will see state-of-the-art facial comparison technology verify identity, rather than needing to present a passport. This is all whilst keeping our country’s borders secure.”
