Airport delays – live: Bank Holiday travel chaos as passport e-gates fail across UK
Issue likely to cause long delays at passport controls for bank holiday travelers flying into the country
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Passengers are facing travel chaos as electronic passport gates have gone down across UK airports.
The issue is likely to cause long delays at passport controls for bank holiday travelers flying into the country as all airports that use the gates are affected.
The Home Office has confirmed the news after the system went down on Friday night - but did not say how long the fault would last.
One passenger has described scenes at Edinburgh Airport as a “shambles”, reporting a queue of over 300 people at passport control on Friday night.
Another spoke of “total chaos” at Gatwick Airport’s passport control, with “queues of over an hour” caused by the downing of the electronic passport gates.
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.”
This comes after thousands of people faced having their bank holiday plans plunged into chaos, as British Airways was forced to cancel scores of flights on Thursday and Friday following an IT failure.
Travel chaos comes ahead of strikes affecting Gatwick Express
The travel chaos at airports across the UK, including Gatwick, comes ahead of strike action affecting the Gatwick Express over the upcoming week.
There will be no Gatwick Express trains on 31 May and 3 June, while an amended timetable will be in place on 1 June and a limited service on 2 June.
Queues seen at Gatwick Airport
‘Scenes of utter chaos'
One traveller arriving at Heathrow reported “scenes of utter chaos”, while another described the situation at Gatwick as an “utter joke”.
A passenger posted on Twitter: "Just landed to scenes of utter chaos. 2 hour queues just to get to the real queue. Gates broken."
While another described the situation at Gatwick as an "utter joke".
Passenger says passport control was ‘unbelievable’ and ‘stiflingly hot'
“Unbelievable” and “stiflingly hot” is how a passenger has described their experience at passport control at Gatwick Airport in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Chris O'Hara added: “Welcome to modern Britain.”
He wrote on social media: “2am, Gatwick North Terminal passport control. Unbelievable. Welcome to modern Britain.
“And of course, the aircon is shut down, so it's stiflingly hot.”
As many as 19.2 million car trips estimated for bank holiday
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.
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.
Travellers at Dover also hit with long queues
Long queues have been affecting travellers at Dover, which has also experienced IT problems, although waiting times have been easing.
The Port of Dover’s latest update on Twitter reads: “As predicted Port of Dover is busy but traffic currently processing well and according to plan. Earlier IT issues at border resolved. Waiting times for cars and coaches now between 30 - 45 mins.”
Border Force has put in place ‘robust plans’, says Home Office
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.”
Gatwick Airports says situation is ‘manageable'
Gatwick Airport has told The Independent the situation on the ground there is “manageable”.
It added the electronic passport gates are still down.
Video shows long delays at Gatwick Airport passport control
Gatwick Airport ‘providing assistance to passengers'
A Gatwick Airport spokesman said the problem started on Friday evening but queues had eased on Saturday morning, and its staff is “providing assistance to passengers where necessary”.
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.”
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