Isn't as bad as being made out... That's to say the queueing isn't caused by the automatic gates as much as they way they are programmed and the people using them.
The E gates should be efficient and idiot proof... But there are two reasons they won't let you through...
1. People don't understand that they have to fully insert their palm on top of their passport in order to ensure the page being scanned is perfectly flat... If you don't, then the spine binding stops the page from laying flat creating shadows and distortion that the scanner cannot process.
2. The Passenger Locator paperwork is linked to your passport number. Any issue with the Passenger Locator form and it won't let you through, even if your passport scans correctly. But it doesn't tell you that.
In both cases, it simply tells you to "Try Again".
Unfortunately, the way they are programmed, you have to fail 3 attempts before it lets you back out and tells you to seek assistance. And each attempt takes about 30 seconds. Only one in five people using each of the gates at Gatwick on Thursday afternoon made it through on the first attempt, and typically it takes 30-45 seconds to get the camera and scanner to tally.
Point being, follow the instructions and ensure that you have filled the required online documents correctly and you won't be held up or hold anyone else up.
And that's before you get to the retards that think facial recognition will magically see through a face mask when it compares you with your photo.
But, no, the media would have you believe that the queues are down to a lack of staff and that it is everyones fault except the people who can't follow simple instructions...
It took an hour to get to the car from the plane landing.