NewsUK & World NewsSummer holidaysThe change will affect millions of children in the UK12:56, 08 Jul 2026Updated 13:00, 08 Jul 2026Rules surrounding passport e-gates have been changed ahead of the school holidays. Access to e-gates at UK airports has been expanded to include younger children as the peak summer holiday period ramps up, the Home Office has announced.‌From Wednesday, children aged eight and nine returning to the UK are eligible to use e-gates. The gates use facial recognition technology to check passengers’ identities against the photo in their passport, which is generally quicker than manual inspections.‌Children must be at least 120cm tall so they can be seen by biometric scanners, and accompanied by an adult.‌Under previous rules, only passengers aged 10 and above were all