Queues build at major UK airports as electronic passport gates fail

Passengers arriving at major airports in the UK at the start of the bank holiday weekend are facing long delays after problems with electronic passport gates.

Travellers expressed their anger on social media over queues of several hours at a number of airports including Heathrow and Gatwick as arrivals had their passports checked by hand instead of the automated machines.

Millions are expected to take to the roads and public transport this weekend.

One passenger arriving from Frankfurt said he queued at Heathrow only to have his passport rejected by an electronic gate. “In total, queued for almost an hour to enter my own country on a British passport,” David Steward wrote on Twitter.

Another traveller posted photos of a crowded line at Gatwick’s passport control at 2am on Saturday. “Unbelievable. Welcome to modern Britain. And of course, the air con is shut down so it’s stiflingly hot,” wrote Chris O’Hara.

A passenger 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 person arriving at Heathrow described it as “the mother of queues”.

A Gatwick spokesperson said the problem started on Friday evening but that queues had eased on Saturday morning. 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.”

In a tweet, a spokesperson for Heathrow said: “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.”

Separate IT issues affected 20,000 British Airways passengers on Friday, causing more than 175 flights to be cancelled. It went on to affect services on Saturday morning.

Disruption was also affecting travel on ferries between Dover and Calais, as a problem with IT systems in French passport control was delaying arrivals into France.

Passengers were being told to allow two hours for border controls and to check in at the UK’s main passenger port.

A Home Office spokesperson 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.”

It said Border Force had plans to deploy officers to help minimise delays and disruption.