Passport e-gates to be made available to children aged eight and nine
The gates use facial recognition technology to check passengers’ identities against the photo in their passport.
Access to e-gates at UK airports will be expanded to include younger children, the Home Office has announced.
From July 8, children aged eight and nine returning to the UK will be eligible to use e-gates.
The gates use facial recognition technology to check passengers’ identities against the photo in their passport, which is generally quicker than manual inspections.
Children must be at least 120cm tall so they can be seen by biometric scanners, and accompanied by an adult.
Under current rules, passengers aged under 10 are banned from using the gates, forcing many families to queue for passport booths.
The policy to cut the minimum age means up to 1.5 million additional children will be able to use them, the Government suggests.
In addition to the 13 UK airports with e-gates, children aged eight and nine will also be permitted to use them at ports in Brussels and Paris, where juxtaposed checks take place.
Migration minister Mike Tapp said more families would “experience a swifter and smoother journey home” this summer.
The UK has nearly 300 e-gates.
Border Force director-general Phil Douglas said increasing access to e-gates enabled “highly skilled officers to focus on intercepting those who pose a threat to the UK”.
UK e-gates are available to Britons as well as nationals from the European Union, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland and the US.
They can also be used by members of the registered traveller service.