Lengthy border queues as UK airports hit by ‘nationwide’ passport e-gate outage
Travellers are facing lengthy delays at airports across the UK due to a “nationwide” passport e-gate outage.
Heathrow, Stansted, Gatwick, and Manchester airports are among those affected, with pictures on social media showing long queues at the border.
A spokesperson for Heathrow said that Border Force is currently experiencing a “nationwide issue”.
“Our teams are supporting Border Force with their contingency plans to help resolve the problem as quickly as possible and are on hand to provide passenger welfare,” they added.
“We apologise for any impact this is having to passenger journeys.”
A London Gatwick spokesperson 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.”
Manchester Airport confirmed that it had also been affected by the outage.
They said: “We are aware of an issue with UK Border Force’s systems across the country, affecting a significant number of airports.
“Our Resilience Team and customer services colleagues are supporting passengers while UK Border Force and fixes the issue.”
A spokesperson for Stansted Airport, which is owned by Manchester Airport Group (MAG), provided a similar statement.
The disruption comes after Border Force workers staged a four-day strike at Heathrow in a dispute over working conditions last week.
The union said the workers were protesting against plans to introduce new rosters they claim will see around 250 of them forced out of their jobs at passport control.
