One of the UK’s busiest airports has resorted to issuing a seemingly bizarre warning after unveiling its new e-gates, as the hub continues with its major £100m regeneration scheme
A long-awaited revamp to a tiny UK airport has resulted in a rather strange passport warning being issued to Brits.
Earlier this month, Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) revealed it had completed the first phase of its ambitious terminal expansion project, which is slated to cost a whopping £100 million. The upgrade boasts a host of new facilities including additional seating, two new lounges, an improved baggage reclaim area, and an upgraded passport control area.
The new terminal, which all arriving and departing passengers will go through, has 83 per cent more seating, a range of food and drink offerings including a Burger King and a new bar, as well as a brand new Six Eight One Premium Lounge. LBA chief executive officer Vincent Hodder said it was the ‘first major improvement to our terminal since its opening in 1968 and is long overdue’.
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Details of the refurbishment were first announced back in 2018 as part of bold plans to create a new terminal at the south end of the runway. However, the original blueprints were axed several years later due to ‘excessive delays’. Buildings for the new extension then started in 2023.
Part of the upgrade also includes new e-gates – which have appeared to have sparked confusion online. In a recent TikTok video, LBA showed off the machines, which require passengers to scan their boarding pass before being allowed through automatic gates, stating: “Do you hear that? You don’t need your passport. You don’t need your passport. You don’t need your passport.”
LBA captioned the post: “You only need your boarding card (paper or digital) to go through our e-gates, NOT your passport!” However, some viewers misconstrued the post into thinking they no longer need to bring their passports along to the airport at all.
“How would one get back [to the UK] if one never took a passport?” one person commented. Another wrote: “Oh this ain’t going to go down well when people start turning up without passports,” while a third pointed out: “Bold move from the graphic design team.” Others criticised the airport for relying on the ‘common sense’ of the public to understand the post properly.
The airport clarified in the comments section, that travellers ‘obviously’ do need a passport to leave the country, and that the post was explicitly referencing the e-gates. In a separate video, the hub joked about the confusion with a video captioned: “Can’t believe we’ve got to say this but please don’t try [and] travel without your passport…”
Speaking to the Mirror about the humorous TikTok videos, a spokesperson for LBA said: “It’s often best to take a light-hearted approach with some of the more routine airport processes that help us ensure customers are prepped and ready to travel in the best possible way. We’ve recently shared some light-hearted content to help customers use our newly installed security e-gates as well as responding to customers wanting to smoke after security.
“For most, travelling through an airport is a fun time. We want to ensure customers have the necessary information to help make their journey run as smoothly as possible.”
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