UK Airports Expand E-Gate Access to Eight-Year-Old Children From July 8
Children aged eight and nine will be granted access to e-gates at UK airports and other points of entry starting from 8 July, the Home Office has confirmed. To use the biometric scanners, children must be at least 120cm (3ft 11in) tall and be accompanied by an adult.
This change lowers the minimum age requirement from ten years, a move the government anticipates will enable up to 1.5 million more children to process through e-gates. Over 290 e-gates across the UK and at juxtaposed ports, where border checks are conducted on the European continent, are included in this expansion.
Minister for Migration and Citizenship Mike Tapp stated that the initiative would allow more families to "experience a swifter and smoother journey home... this summer holiday season." E-gates are implemented to expedite passenger border checks via digital passport scans. These facilities are accessible to British citizens, as well as nationals from EU states, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, and the US, along with members of the Registered Traveller Service.
Phil Douglas, Director General of Border Force, indicated that this new measure would permit "highly skilled officers to focus on intercepting those who pose a threat to the UK." Karen Dee, Chief Executive of AirportsUK, the representative body for UK airports, described the development as "welcome," noting it would "give more families the ability to take advantage of this technology, speeding up the border process and reducing waiting times for many."
E-gates are installed at 13 UK airports: Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, London City, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, and Stansted. They are also available at juxtaposed ports in Brussels and Paris. This expansion is part of the government's Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme, which commenced in February, requiring digital permission for certain travellers to enter the UK. Under this system, travellers from visa-exempt countries, such as Canada and Australia, now require an ETA, priced at £20, to enter Britain. Recent months have seen digital passport checks cause significant disruptions at some European airports, including in Italy and Portugal, leading to warnings that new scanning systems could result in substantial delays during the summer period.
