New e-gates in T5 LHR
#1
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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
#2
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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.
#3
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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.
#6
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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.
#11
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Totally agree and something that we should all lobby Heathrow to do. Can't be that difficult.
#12
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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.
#14
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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