Anyone else have issues at the T5 passport E-Gates?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Glasgow, UK
Programs: Seigneur des Tarifs Utils First Class Mucci with Honours :) - BA GGL / CCR
Posts: 1,548
Anyone else have issues at the T5 passport E-Gates?
Firstly mods please don't move this it's BA related because I only experience this at T5.
So everyone without fail. I approach the E-Gates in T5 when I come off an international flight and without fail I put the passport in and it shows the spinning disc for 2p seconds or so and just goes straight to "Seek Assistance" this only happens at the T5 gates and I end up having to go to the border force agent.
Does anyone else have this problem or is it just me? Is there something wrong with my passport? Works fine at every other airport with automated terminals although t5 is the only one in the UK. It's a UK passport.
Should I contact border force or is the machine just not like me?
On a side note did my first priority boarding via electronic gate on LHR to GLA and worked no problem and was pretty efficient.
So everyone without fail. I approach the E-Gates in T5 when I come off an international flight and without fail I put the passport in and it shows the spinning disc for 2p seconds or so and just goes straight to "Seek Assistance" this only happens at the T5 gates and I end up having to go to the border force agent.
Does anyone else have this problem or is it just me? Is there something wrong with my passport? Works fine at every other airport with automated terminals although t5 is the only one in the UK. It's a UK passport.
Should I contact border force or is the machine just not like me?
On a side note did my first priority boarding via electronic gate on LHR to GLA and worked no problem and was pretty efficient.
#4
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,476
If it was quick to reject it suggests the technique is wrong. Are you holding the photo page down on the patten with a flat palm? "Tenting" is the quickest way to a reject message. Some places (e.g. Belgium) swallow the passport so that it's difficult to get it wrong, albeit at the risk of nipping your fingers.
There's no problem asking the UKBF officer if the chip is ok, s/he is supposed to volunteer the fact, or even seize the passport if it has certain sorts of defects. Their scanner is essentially the same as the e-gate machine.
GLA has the same gates if arriving there internationally.
[50% = beard, gender reassignment or technique, they aren't that temperamental!]
There's no problem asking the UKBF officer if the chip is ok, s/he is supposed to volunteer the fact, or even seize the passport if it has certain sorts of defects. Their scanner is essentially the same as the e-gate machine.
GLA has the same gates if arriving there internationally.
[50% = beard, gender reassignment or technique, they aren't that temperamental!]
#5
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Perth WA/ UK
Programs: BA Gold, Priority Club Gold, Accor Silver, Virgin Australia Gold
Posts: 1,739
Was there not a forum thread on this some time ago? Faulty passport batch or something? And that at T5 sometimes it's best to give when holding passport in the scan area a bit more pressure by hand than normal? Just seem to recall that. Sorry if off track on that..
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Juneau, Alaska.
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See some similar comments here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...-t5-lhr-8.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...-t5-lhr-8.html
#8
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,476
There are currently 3 valid passport designs out there, and the current intermediate design (the one with a London tube map in it) can be slightly misaligned with the edge. If you place the passport with a small parallel gap - just a couple of millimetres - on the machine readable coding side it may work better.
#10
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Manchester but from Yorkshire better known as Gods country
Programs: BA Gold, , Sandals plat
Posts: 839
Same here seems there are quite a few Smith's on the wanted list
#12
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYZ
Programs: BA Gold/Marriott Gold/HH Diamond/IC Plat Amba
Posts: 5,982
At first I thought it was just me being a numpty at the T5 e-gates but it turned out it was understaffing behind the glass. It has worked great for me over the last year and always works in places like Finland and Germany
#13
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 31
This has happened to my new passport (from January) at every gate I've tried it at in the UK, except Luton.
It's failed at Heathrow T5, T4 and T2, Stansted, Gatwick and Paris Gare du Nord. And it failed on the gates in Amsterdam too.
It worked fine at Copenhagen and Luton. The gates at Luton still showed the camera picture of me, whereas the others never do. Did Luton just not get a software update?
I've asked the border agents and they just tell me I'm doing it wrong. My previous passport never had an issue. I thought maybe it couldn't match me to the photo, but I must be closer to the January 2017 photo to the 2010 one (which has had border staff asking if I had other ID even).
It's failed at Heathrow T5, T4 and T2, Stansted, Gatwick and Paris Gare du Nord. And it failed on the gates in Amsterdam too.
It worked fine at Copenhagen and Luton. The gates at Luton still showed the camera picture of me, whereas the others never do. Did Luton just not get a software update?
I've asked the border agents and they just tell me I'm doing it wrong. My previous passport never had an issue. I thought maybe it couldn't match me to the photo, but I must be closer to the January 2017 photo to the 2010 one (which has had border staff asking if I had other ID even).
#15
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: A hop, skip and jump away from MAN.
Programs: BAEC Gold, ex-VS Gold, ex-UA Gold, Premier Inn Platinum-Iridium
Posts: 1,114
Never had any issues at T5, LGW or MAN in the UK, nor at MAD or on the Eurostar e-border gates (both on the UK and French sides).
I don't even take my glasses off and it still works.
I don't even take my glasses off and it still works.