The Home Office has announced that access to e-gates at UK airports will be expanded to include younger children. Starting July 8, children aged eight and nine returning to the UK will be eligible to use e-gates, which employ facial recognition technology to verify passengers' identities against their passport photos. This process is typically faster than manual inspections.
New Eligibility Criteria
To use the e-gates, children must be at least 120 centimetres tall so they can be properly scanned by biometric scanners, and they must be accompanied by an adult. Under current regulations, passengers under the age of 10 are prohibited from using the gates, forcing many families to wait in longer queues for passport booths.
The government estimates that lowering the minimum age will allow up to 1.5 million additional children to use the e-gates. In addition to the 13 UK airports equipped with e-gates, children aged eight and nine will also be permitted to use them at ports in Brussels and Paris, where juxtaposed checks are conducted.
Benefits for Families
Migration Minister Mike Tapp stated that more families would experience a swifter and smoother journey home this summer as a result of the policy change. The UK currently operates nearly 300 e-gates across its airports.
Border Force Director-General Phil Douglas noted that increasing access to e-gates allows highly skilled officers to focus on intercepting those who pose a threat to the UK. This shift is expected to enhance border security while improving the travel experience for families.
Eligible Nationalities
UK e-gates 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. They can also be used by members of the registered traveller service.
