How Americans Can Use eGates to Avoid Lengthy Lines at UK Airports This Summer

UK ePassport gates are automated passport control checkpoints run by Border Force at airports and international rail terminals. Eligible travelers follow signs to the gates, scan their passport, and enter a gate where a camera compares their face to the biometric photo stored in the passport chip. If the match and checks succeed, the gates open automatically and travelers proceed into the airport. The gates began in the late 2000s for British and European travelers and expanded in 2019 to include additional nationalities such as the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. When operating normally, the process can take under a minute, but manual screening flags and nationwide outages can cause delays. Nearly 300 eGates operate across major airports and at Eurostar terminals in Paris and Brussels.

"The UK's eGates—officially called ePassport gates—are automated passport control checkpoints operated by Border Force at airports and international rail terminals across the country. To find them, simply follow the signs in passport control. Instead of handing your passport to an immigration officer, eligible travelers can scan their passport themselves, step into a gate, and look into a camera that matches their face to the biometric photo stored in their passport chip. If everything checks out, the gates open automatically, and travelers can continue into the airport."

"The gates first launched in the late 2000s for British and European travelers, but the program expanded significantly in 2019 when the UK added travelers from countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. When functioning normally, the process can take less than a minute and dramatically reduce wait times compared to traditional passport control lines. But the system is not flawless: Travelers are occasionally flagged for manual screening, and several nationwide outages in recent years have caused significant delays at UK airports."

"They're also available at Eurostar terminals in Paris and Brussels, where UK immigration checks happen before passengers board trains bound for London. All told, the UK now has nearly 300 eGates in operation. Eligible users currently include citizens of: The United Kingdom, European Union member states, the United States, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland."

Read at Conde Nast Traveler