Uncertainty remains over e-gate use for British travellers to the EU
New digital border system offers hope for shorter queues, but not in time for this summer
British holidaymakers hoping to breeze through EU airport queues using e-gates this summer may be disappointed. Despite progress in negotiations between the UK and the EU, there is still no guarantee that UK passport holders will have widespread access to e-gates before the end of the season.The European Commission has confirmed that UK citizens will not be able to use e-gates across the EU until a new digital border control system, the European Entry/Exit System (EES), comes into effect, and that is not expected before October. Even then, the decision will rest with individual countries.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden told the BBC: “Nothing is going to happen before that is in place. The EU is introducing this new entry and exit scheme, and that is not yet in place. They have put the date back a few times, the latest date is the autumn, let’s see if that is stuck to.”
Under the EES, non-EU nationals, including UK passport holders, will be required to register biometric data such as fingerprints and facial recognition at airports, train stations and ports. Once enrolled, travellers should be able to use e-gates more widely, avoiding the long queues that have become a familiar frustration since Brexit.
Although some EU countries already allow British citizens to use e-gates, these are usually followed by a manual passport check and stamp. The EES aims to remove the need for physical stamps altogether.
According to the EU Commission, the new system would open the possibility for all non-EU citizens, including UK travellers, to use e-gates where they are available, provided they are registered in the system.
The UK government has said it is in discussions with individual EU nations to accelerate access once the EES is up and running. A government spokesperson said: “We will be working with member states to roll that out as quickly as possible.”
Some in the travel industry were surprised to see e-gate access included in this week’s UK-EU deal. Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, commented: “This new deal appears to offer little more than expanded access to e-gates which are already in use at some destinations and only after the long-delayed digital border system is introduced.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also addressed the matter while meeting supermarket workers, saying: “They were excited about the e-gates and being able to go on their holidays, which they have obviously already planned, and not be in the horrendously long queues.”
So while there is optimism for faster, more streamlined travel in future, this summer looks set to continue with the current system - queues and all.
Image: Atrueleo/Pixabay
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