From 8 July children aged 8-11 who are at least 120 cm tall can use UK Border Force e-gates at Heathrow, Gatwick, St Pancras (Eurostar) and the juxtaposed controls at Paris Gare du Nord. The Home Office confirmed the measure in May but it takes effect today across 290 gates. The change will speed up clearance for Franco-British families on combined holiday-and-business travel and reduce congestion at the juxtaposed Channel Tunnel terminals that handle thousands of French school trips each summer. Companies should update travel policies: minors entering the UK on French national ID cards (allowed for holders of post-Brexit EU Settlement rights) cannot use the gates, but biometric passports issued since 2021 meet the requirement. Airlines using Advance Boarding Verification must still visually check that a responsible adult accompanies under-12s.
