Is eight too young to use airport e-gates?

When my family and I jetted off on our summer holiday to Mallorca this year, there was fear in my heart. Every newspaper and podcaster was talking about the queues caused by Europe’s dreaded EES scheme, and the chaos it was creating as Brits descended on the Continent in bulk.

Arriving at a Spanish airport that sees around three million British visitors per year, I expected the worst – long delays, annoyed officials and massing queues. So I was pleasantly surprised when we zoomed through passport control in less than half an hour. Returning to the UK, it was a different story.

After one of Gatwick’s notoriously long walks from the plane to the immigration hall, we were faced with a massing queue by the e-Gates. From July, the British Government lowered the age that children could use them from 10 to 8, provided that they were 120cm tall (the minimum age is 12 in mainland Europe). 

According to its calculations, that meant that 1.5million more children would use them over the following year. That explained why, rather than the huge queues for the manual gates (which anyone with young children can attest are never fun), there were crowds waiting at the e-gates to scan their documents and enter.

Rage against the machine

I’ve seen plenty of adults bamboozled by these gates, which require you to stand at a certain angle (albeit on helpful footprints), put your passport into the scanner the right way up and wait to be registered while looking at the camera, sometimes for longer than you would anticipate. As one Reddit user put it, “has the government met 8-9 year olds? They are not competent when given instructions.” Comments on a BBC article were more positive – but that’s probably because they were all written by children. “i am excited to use them as i have seen people use them and i am 8,” read one.

Dr Hayley Ponsford, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Associate Medical Director at London Psychiatry Clinic, thinks that many eight-year-olds should be developmentally ready to use the gates. “By this age they are usually becoming increasingly independent and able to take responsibility for straightforward routines and tasks,” she says. 

“There are also potential developmental benefits to allowing children to do something like this independently. Successfully completing a new task can help to build a child’s confidence in their own abilities and encourage a growing sense of independence. It could become an exciting part of going on holiday and something that the child feels proud of afterwards.”

However, she adds, “of course, all children develop at different rates. There will be some children younger than eight who are very competent and confident using this type of technology, while there will also be children older than eight who may struggle with it. Parental judgement is therefore important in deciding whether an individual child is ready and confident enough to use the machines independently.” 

How to cope with the new rules

For over-protective parents like me, as well as nervous children, the gates may be a cause of anxiety. As you’re funnelled through the channels alone, there’s no chance of a parent helping a child to go through the motions. I have an 11 year old and a 14 year old who could definitely cope in this scenario. Aged eight? I’m not so sure. For this reason, Ponsford suggests priming your child on the process ahead of time.

“A child may become anxious or panic if the machine does not immediately recognise their passport or photograph. Even as an adult, I sometimes struggle to get the passport positioned exactly the right way around on the scanner,” she says. “We need to be aware that it can be harder for a child to have the skills to self regulate and self soothe if panicked and they would naturally look to a parent or caregiver to support with this.”

Children first

If you are travelling alone with a child, you’re faced with a dilemma. Do you go through first and risk them not being able to deal with the machine? Or do you go through second, in which case your child will be alone on the other side of Passport Control should anything go wrong.

“I think it would be important for the child to go through the scanner first, followed immediately by the parent. The child should know clearly what to do if their parent is delayed or has difficulty getting through. My advice would be for the child to remain immediately beside the scanner and wait for their parent, rather than moving further into the airport independently. They should also know that they can speak to a member of airport or Border Force staff if they need help,” says Ponsford.

Though official guidance suggests that families with kids older than eight can still opt for the manual security process, my own experience was that we were all funnelled into the e-gate queue, necessitating a discussion with a harried official should parents have wished to use the manual gates. It wasn’t immediately evident that this was an option at all.

The importance of asking for help

It means it’s more important than ever to request special assistance if needed, or for those with hidden disabilities to wear an easily-spotted sunflower lanyard. 

“Some neurodivergent children and young people may find automated passport gates particularly challenging,” says Ponsford. “Difficulties with anxiety, sensory processing, understanding instructions, coping with unexpected events or managing separation from a parent could all make the experience more difficult. These families are usually supported with alternative options to make this less demanding on a child with neurodiversity or special needs.”

The verdict

As with many things (rolling over, drinking from a cup, learning to write), it seems children may reach this milestone at different ages. If they're already comfortable with an iPad or even an inflight entertainment system, they might relish the challenge – and leave you stuck in the booth, wondering how you could possibly have put your passport in wrong again. But, if you feel your child will struggle or get nervous, calmly explain to a member of staff that you need to take them to the manual gates. If my e-gate queue horror is anything to go by, it will be better for everyone anyway.