Top News

Major European holiday destination now lets Brits use e-gates to avoid long passport queues
Mirror | June 18, 2025 7:39 AM CST

Holidaymakers heading to Bulgaria will be able to avoid nightmare queues this summer as e-gates are rolled out to Brits.

UK passport holders can now skip lengthy waits to get their documents stamped at the airport in Sofia by using the quicker e-gates system. Last year, nearly half a million Brits visited the popular holiday destination.

It comes after sealed a deal with the EU last month, which agreed there would be no legal barriers to allowing British travellers to use e-gates abroad.

Since , UK passport holders have generally had to queue for manual checks at border control. But under the pact, the EU has agreed to ease checks universally on British travellers.

EU Relations Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds told the : “Today's eGates win is great news for Brits travelling to the EU – and a clear sign of the Government’s pragmatic reset of our relationship with Brussels and European capitals.”

READ MORE:

Faro Airport, in Portugal, was the first to start the rollout last month, with cities like Paris, Lisbon and Rome following suit. More countries are set to follow suit, with Tallin, in Estonia pencilled in for next year.

The Government has faced criticism over the pace of the rollout of e-gates after the Prime Minister initially said it would apply immediately.

However the EU plans to launch its new Entry/Exit System (EES) in October 2025, which will scrap the requirement for non-EU citizens to have their passports stamped.

It is thought that more European airports will allow Brits to use the e-gates after this new system is brought in.

The full list of airports with confirmed e-gate access

  • Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

  • Paris Orly Airport

  • Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport

  • EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg

  • Marseille Provence Airport

  • Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport

  • Nice Airport

  • Eurostar Paris Gare du Nord Terminal

  • Eurostar London St Pancras Terminal

  • Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal

  • Eurotunnel Calais Terminal

  • Port of Calais

  • Alicante

  • Mallorca

  • Tenerife

  • Lanzarote Egates

  • Gran Canaria

  • Ibiza

  • Naples Airport

  • Rome Fiumicino Airport

  • Rome Ciampino Airport

  • Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport

  • Venice Marco Polo Airport

  • Cagliari Airport

  • Milan Malpensa Airport

  • Milan Linate Airport

  • Bari Airport

  • Brindisi Airport

  • Bergamo Airport

  • Treviso Airport

  • Verona Villafranca Airport

  • Florence Airport

  • Pisa International Airport

  • Turin Airport

  • Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport

  • Catania Airport

  • Palermo Airport

  • Lisbon Airport Terminal 1

  • Faro Airport

  • Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (exit only)

  • Larnaca International Airport

  • Paphos International Airport

  • Brussels airport

  • Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport

  • Dublin airport

  • Prague airport Terminal 1

  • Helsinki airport

    • READ MORE:

    READ NEXT
    Cancel OK