e gates - get though passport control quickly

zaax

It seems that no one is used the e-gates
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/customs-travel/Enteringtheuk/e-passport-gates/

but everyone with a chipped passport can!

If your passport has this logo it's chipped and you can avoid the queues

poppie123

I think people are put off by the long queues they always seem to be whenever i come back into the country.
Coming back from Egypt in August they were trying to persuade people to use the e-gates. Trouble was so many people didn't know how to use them that it took forever to get through and then there were those who for some reason it didn't let them through so they had to be taken to one side.
My partner(who doesn't have a chipped passport) had to join the main queue which was the longest i have ever seen it, he still made it through quicker than me.

aileth

I know how to use them and always do, but it takes forever for me because I always seem to be behind a giant person and I'm only 5 foot, and the camera takes a loooooong time to come down a foot or more as it does it in piddly amounts! First time I used it just after they came out, it wouldn't work for me because I was apparently 'too small' and had to join the queue! I can't be the only person in the UK to be 5 foot or are we all supposed to be 6?!

DTDfanBoy

Sadly not everyone with a chipped passport can, only those with a chipped EEA passport

While IRIS was very problematic at times at least I could use it with my NZ passport, it's saved me loads of time over the years, I hope they allow other passport holders to register for this in the future. The last thing you need after a day of travelling is to wait in a queue for a couple of hours.

peachyprice

It'll be another 2 years before I get a chipped passport, my DD aged 11 has one but she can't use is because she's under 18, mu OH has one, can't remember if my sons do, if they do they'll be able to use them next March.

Until we all have them there's not much point, when we're travelling as a family, in some of us using e-gates while the others can't.

Once I get mine I will use the e-gate when travelling alone.

getmore4less

The system is slow so judge the size of the queues first

balletshoes

I'm the same Peachy - my DD has a chipped passport, I don't, and I don't renew mine until 2014. So neither of us can use the e-gates.

I don't even know where they are in the airports I visit to be honest, as I know I can't use them.

ferf1223

DTDfanBoy wrote: »

Sadly not everyone with a chipped passport can, only those with a chipped EEA passport

While IRIS was very problematic at times at least I could use it with my NZ passport, it's saved me loads of time over the years, I hope they allow other passport holders to register for this in the future. The last thing you need after a day of travelling is to wait in a queue for a couple of hours.

Agree - I loved IRIS and so gutted that I cannot use e-gates...and I have a visa, so would think they would find a way for me to at least not have to queue with the rest of the non-vetted folks.

bagand96

The reason they aren't used is they never appear to be on at regional airports. Both Bristol and Birmingham seem to keep them in the off position most of the time.

I was beginning to think they wre just a piece of modern art at BHX although last time I used the place they were on

CG19a

I've flown through Edinburgh airport several times in the last year, and never have I seen the E-gates available to use. Instead we are forced to wait over an hour to get through normal passport control.

apt

getmore4less wrote: »

The system is slow so judge the size of the queues first

Too true. I made the mistake of joining what seemed to be a shorter queue for the e-gates at Gatwick and it ended up taking longer. The electronic system in Britain seems slower than when I've used it in Prague and Funchal.