Roland Perry wrote:
In message
-septe
mber.org, at 11:00:04 on Sun, 22 Jan 2017, Recliner
remarked:

The ePassport queues have got worse and worse, as more people have got
chipped passports and have learned how to use the gates. At one time, the
majority preferred the manual queue, but as fewer desks are now manned,
most EU citizens now use the gates.

Only two more years to go.

Really? EU citizens are very likely to continue using the ePassport gates
post-Brexit. After all, visa-free movement is likely to continue; what's
likely to be restricted is employment (ie, getting an NI number) and access
to benefits.

Even now, many non-EU citizens can use them:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPas...es#Eligibility

At present, British citizens, European Economic Area citizens and citizens
of Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South
Korea, Taiwan and the United States who are enrolled in the Registered
Traveller Service,[1] can use ePassport gates, provided that they are aged
either 18 and over or 12 and over travelling with an adult and holding
valid biometric passports.

----

Similarly, I was surprised to see that I could use the equivalent gates in
New Zealand.