Dublin Airport has moved firmly into the new century with the introduction of electronic border control gates to screen arriving passengers. These promise to save time and expedite the arrival experience.
Introduced from 30 November 2017, the new e-Gates are available to Irish and EU Passport holders over the age of 18. Is time really being saved though?
Daunting Electronics At The Border
In the middle of December I arrived in Dublin and decided to go through the e-Gates at the border. I’ve come across these types of gates before and in Sydney they are the fastest way into the country.
Apparently the people of Ireland didn’t get the memo because I have never seen such a jittery bunch in my life. Some people must think our electronic overlords are waiting in the wings ready to take over the country, judging by how they went about using the machines.
This seemed to be too complex for some people and I got to watch the bewilderment and confusion first hand. It just kept happening, making what should be a fast experience quite slow.
So How Do I Use The Automatic Gates?
It really is very simple. When the clear doors open, you walk in and stand on the yellow feet painted on the floor. Put your Passport – opened at the photo page of course – in the machine face down, then the machine will slide the Passport in to scan it. Next, stand still and look at the screen in front of you.
This is where everyone was making a mistake. Rather than standing still, they were shuffling from foot to foot and moving around as though they had drugs stashed about their person. Stand still and do nothing and the machine will give you a big green tick whereupon you grab your Passport and head off to baggage claim. Simple!
Overall Thoughts
Electronic border processing is here to stay and in fact even things like boarding your flight are now becoming automated. The only way the machine can recognise your face and match it to your Passport is if you stand still.
Granted the machines had only been in operation for two weeks when I went through, but it’s not rocket science. The plan is to double the amount of e-Gates at border control in Dublin so people will get used to it in time, I’m sure.
Do you prefer the electronic method or would you rather deal with a person? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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gimme an egate any day of the week. rather that than some jumped up security guard
The people in Dublin are usually quite nice, but I’ve had some really rude people at various places (usually in the United States, sadly). Definitely prefer the e-Gate myself!