New e-gates in T5 LHR
Aug 27, 2015, 11:31 pm
#1
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,791
New e-gates in T5 LHR
Hat tip to KARFA for this one:
The extra ten e-gates have now been unveiled in the UK Border hall of Terminal 5 Arrivals, to add to the 5 e-gate. They were boxed off in a wooden crate until a few days ago, but KARFA reports that though they were roped off, they seem almost ready for service, with the TV displays now operating. My guess is that they will be switched on very shortly to cope with the weekend rush. EDIT: Wednesday 9 September 2015, see below.
The new 10 gates are on the left of the hall, the 5 old gates are on the right side before UK Flight Connections, giving 2 exit points. I guess they will shuffle the 5 gates over to the elft after the summer is over. The old set-up was insufficient for the demand, even LCY has 5 e-gates.
E-gates can be used by UK, other EEA and Swiss passport holders with chipped passports, over the age of 18 years old. ID cards don't work, but chipped passports for other nationals registered under the Frequent Traveller scheme can also use them.
The extra ten e-gates have now been unveiled in the UK Border hall of Terminal 5 Arrivals, to add to the 5 e-gate. They were boxed off in a wooden crate until a few days ago, but KARFA reports that though they were roped off, they seem almost ready for service, with the TV displays now operating. My guess is that they will be switched on very shortly to cope with the weekend rush. EDIT: Wednesday 9 September 2015, see below.
The new 10 gates are on the left of the hall, the 5 old gates are on the right side before UK Flight Connections, giving 2 exit points. I guess they will shuffle the 5 gates over to the elft after the summer is over. The old set-up was insufficient for the demand, even LCY has 5 e-gates.
E-gates can be used by UK, other EEA and Swiss passport holders with chipped passports, over the age of 18 years old. ID cards don't work, but chipped passports for other nationals registered under the Frequent Traveller scheme can also use them.
Last edited by corporate-wage-slave; Aug 31, 2015 at 5:27 am Reason: FTS typo
Aug 27, 2015, 11:38 pm
#2
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Lausanne Switzerland
Programs: BA Gold; Swiss Blue
Posts: 1,244
Would be nice if they kept a couple of the "old" e-gates where they are next to INT-DOM connections to allow UK/EEA/Swiss PAX who are connecting to a domestic flight the option to use E-Gates for a possibly quicker transfer.
Aug 28, 2015, 12:36 am
#3
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,945
They looked ready to go last night when I passed through the border. I would be surprised if they weren't brought in to use in the next few days.
I agree with SWISSBOBBY, it would be great if they could shuffle maybe two of the existing machines across for INT-DOM connections.
I agree with SWISSBOBBY, it would be great if they could shuffle maybe two of the existing machines across for INT-DOM connections.
Aug 28, 2015, 1:05 am
#6
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Manila, Philippines (MNL)
Programs: BAEC Gold [>20k Lifetime TPs] | Hilton Honors Lifetime Diamond [as is Mrs PtF] | Various Others
Posts: 6,156
Too true. My recent LHR T5 arrival experiences have been a disappointment, caused primarily by the ridiculously long queues at passport control. Timewise, I've found a manual passport check (as opposed to using the e-gates) to be the lesser of two evils.
Aug 28, 2015, 4:58 am
#11
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Cumbria
Programs: BA, Marriott, Hertz, Dennis The Menace Fan Club
Posts: 2,015
Totally agree and something that we should all lobby Heathrow to do. Can't be that difficult.
Aug 28, 2015, 5:04 am
#12
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: London (LCY)
Programs: BA bronze, Hilton gold, Marriott gold, IHG plat, Meliá gold, Radisson gold, Hyatt disc, AmexPlat
Posts: 977
Why don't biometric ID cards work in e-gates? They bear the same symbol as biometric passports so there should be no difference in acceptance. I've noticed that this is a restriction not only in the anti-ID-card UK but also in other European countries where ID cards are the norm.
Aug 28, 2015, 5:25 am
#14
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: 15 minutes west of LHR, Stockholm, or somewhere inbetween.
Programs: BAEC Gold GGL, CCR, GfL, Mucci des Recherches des Consommations Exotiques.
Posts: 2,463
I'll have a look this evening when i pass through.
I'm unsure if they'll go in to operation this soon, as I'd been told mid to late September.
bjorns
I'm unsure if they'll go in to operation this soon, as I'd been told mid to late September.
bjorns