What are the UK\u2019s eGates\u2014and how do they work?<\/p>\n
The UK\u2019s eGates\u2014officially called ePassport gates\u2014are 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.<\/p>\n
Instead of handing your passport<\/a> 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<\/a> stored in their passport chip. If everything checks out, the gates open automatically, and travelers can continue into the airport.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> in recent years have caused significant delays at UK airports<\/a>.<\/p>\n Which airports have eGates?<\/p>\n The gates are available at many of the UK\u2019s busiest international airports<\/a>, including:<\/p>\n Heathrow AirportGatwick AirportManchester AirportEdinburgh AirportBirmingham AirportGlasgow AirportLondon Stansted AirportLondon Luton AirportLondon City AirportBristol AirportEast Midlands AirportNewcastle AirportCardiff Airport<\/p>\n They\u2019re also available at Eurostar terminals in Paris and Brussels, where UK immigration checks happen before passengers board trains<\/a> bound for London. All told, the UK now has nearly 300 eGates in operation.<\/p>\n Who can use the UK eGates?<\/p>\n