Advertisement
Advertisement
Britain
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Travellers arriving at Heathrow Airport in London are being delayed due to a technical issue. Photo: AP

Travel chaos: anger at UK airport delays due to passport e-gate failure

  • Travellers on social media described queues of several hours at a number of airports including Heathrow and Gatwick
  • The Home Office said on Saturday evening the e-gates have started operating as normal after the problems earlier in the day
Britain
Agencies

Britain’s automated border control gates known as e-gates have started operating as normal after problems earlier in the day, the Home Office said on Saturday evening.

Passengers flying into Britain were facing major delays after landing at airports due to a nationwide issue affecting the e-gates that scan passports upon arrival.

On social media, travellers have described queues of several hours at a number of airports including Heathrow and Gatwick as arrivals needed to have their passports checked by hand rather than the automated machines.

People queue at arrivals at Heathrow airport in London, UK on Saturday. Photo: Ivan Coninx via AP

The problems come as millions are expected to take to the roads and public transport for the bank holiday weekend.

One traveller arriving at Heathrow posted on Twitter: “Just landed to scenes of utter chaos. 2 hour queues just to get to the real queue. Gates broken.” Another passenger at Gatwick described the situation as an “utter joke”.

A Gatwick Airport spokesman said the problem started on Friday evening but queues had eased on Saturday. He said: “Some passengers may experience delays at immigration due to a nationwide issue with UK Border Force e-gates.

“Our staff are working with UK Border Force – who operate passport control including the e-gates – to provide assistance to passengers where necessary.”

At least 50 Cathay flights delayed by system breakdown at Hong Kong airport

Heathrow Airport posted on Twitter: “We are aware of a nationwide issue impacting the e-Gates, which are operated by Border Force. This issue is impacting a number of ports of entry and is not Heathrow specific.”

“Our teams are working closely with Border Force to help resolve the problem as quickly as possible and we have additional colleagues on hand to manage queues and provide passenger welfare. We apologise for any impact this is having to passenger journeys.”

A Home Office spokeswoman said that the Border Force had put in place “robust plans” to deploy officers to minimise disruption and wait times.

The automated e-gate system is available for British citizens aged over 12 and those from the EU, as well as people from several other countries including Australia, Canada, the US, Japan and New Zealand.

The spokeswoman said: “We are aware of a nationwide border system issue affecting arrivals into the UK. We are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible and are liaising with port operators and airlines to minimise disruption for travellers.”

02:03

Chaos as Manila airport scrambles to restore operations after power outage

Chaos as Manila airport scrambles to restore operations after power outage

The problems came after British Airways had to cancel 175 flights following an IT failure on Thursday and Friday.

Meanwhile, long queues have been experienced at Dover which has also experienced IT problems.

The Port of Dover posted on Twitter: “Thank you for your patience as we catch up from earlier IT issues at border control, which have been resolved. Traffic now processing well through border. Average waiting times for cars and coaches now 90 mins.”

The RAC estimated that drivers across the UK will embark on 19.2 million leisure car trips between Friday and Monday making it the busiest late May bank holiday since 2019.

Passengers queue for ferries at the Port of Dover in Kent, UK on Saturday. Photo: PA Wire / dpa

Transport data company Inrix warned that journeys on some stretches of the M25 will take up to three times longer than normal.

They include clockwise from Junction 23 for Hatfield to Junction 28 for Chelmsford, and anticlockwise towards the Dartford Crossing.

Long delays are also expected on the M5 in Somerset and the M6 in Cheshire and Greater Manchester.

Post