This change to UK airport e-gates could save families a lot of time

"The Home Office has now announced that children aged eight and nine coming back to the UK will now be able to use e-gates from 8 July 2026, which is thought to amount to an extra 1.5 million people, the BBC reports. The only requirements are that children must be accompanied by an adult, and they also have to be 120cm (3ft 11in) or taller so that the biometric scanners can register them. Up until now, the minimum age for children to use these scanners was 10."

"Officials are optimistic that this could save families a lot of time at the airport. More families will "experience a swifter and smoother journey home... this summer holiday season", said Minister for Migration and Citizenship Mike Tapp. Airport e-gates digitally scan passports and have been introduced to speed up border checks. More than 290 UK e-gates will be involved in the new age limit."

"Karen Dee, Chief Executive of AirportsUK, the trade body for UK airports, said the change was a "welcome development", adding, "it will 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 across 13 UK airports: Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, London City, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle and Stansted."

"In 2024, thousands of travellers were forced to queue for hours, with some resorting to sleeping on airport floors, following a "nationwide issue" that saw e-gates fail in the UK's largest airports. The e-gate failure, which began on the evening of Thursday, 7 May, was resolved. However, it has left a lasting impact on travellers, who then viewed the t"

UK airport e-gates will be available to children aged eight and nine starting 8 July 2026. Children must travel with an adult and be at least 120cm tall so biometric scanners can register them. The previous minimum age for biometric scanner use was 10. The change is expected to reduce border waiting times for families and enable a faster, smoother return during the summer holiday period. More than 290 e-gates across 13 airports will be used for the expanded age limit. E-gates digitally scan passports to speed border checks. In 2024, e-gates failed at major airports, causing long queues and significant disruption until the issue was resolved.

Read at CN Traveller