Government expands e-gate access to include younger children
Summary
Starting July 8, children aged eight and nine who are at least 120cm tall can use e-gates at UK airports when returning from abroad, as announced by the Home Office. This change will allow up to 1.5 million more children to use the faster digital passport scanning system, which helps reduce waiting times at the border.Key Facts
- The minimum age for using e-gates in UK airports will be lowered from 10 to 8 years old.
- Children must be at least 120cm tall to be recognized by biometric scanners.
- Children using e-gates must be accompanied by an adult.
- Up to 1.5 million additional children may benefit from this change.
- More than 290 e-gates exist in the UK and at some ports in Europe with UK border checks.
- E-gates speed up border checks by scanning digital passports.
- The system is available to citizens of the UK and certain countries including the US, EU states, Canada, Australia, and others.
- E-gates are found at 13 UK airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Edinburgh.
- The e-gate system is part of the wider Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme, which charges £20 for entry permission for travelers from visa-free countries.
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