UK Lowers eGate Age to 8 at 13 Airports from July 8

The UK Home Office announced Thursday that children aged eight and nine returning from abroad will be eligible to use electronic gates, or eGates, at 13 major airports and juxtaposed ports in Brussels and Paris starting July 8. The change lowers the minimum age from 10, allowing families to bypass traditional passport booths for faster biometric scans.

E-gates employ facial recognition technology to verify passengers' identities against passport photos, a process officials describe as quicker than manual checks. Eligible children must stand at least 120 centimeters tall to reach the biometric scanners and travel with an accompanying adult. The government estimates the policy will enable up to 1.5 million additional children to use the nearly 300 eGates across the UK each year.

Migration Minister Mike Tapp said the expansion would allow more families to "experience a swifter and smoother journey home... this summer holiday season." Border Force Director General Phil Douglas added that broadening access frees highly skilled officers to concentrate on "intercepting those who pose a threat to the UK."

The eGates operate at Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh,...