Passengers are facing long delays at airports and ports right across the UK due to a nationwide shutdown of the e-gates at passport control.
The Home Office has confirmed that arriving passengers are not able to use any of the e-gates, which is leading to long queues at many airports.
The IT system that process ferry passengers leaving from the Port of Dover also failed earlier today, leading to two-hour queues.
Up to 80% of passengers arriving at UK airports usually go through e-gates, but now every passenger must be processed manually.
All airports that use e-gates are affected, including London Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester.
Departing passengers from airports are not affected.
A Home Office spokesperson said there had been 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,” they said.
Ferry passengers departing from Dover were facing two-hour queues early today. The Port tweeted at around 9am to say its IT issue had been resolved and the average waiting time for cars and coaches was 90 minutes.
Separately, some British Airways passengers are understood to be facing further cancellations and delays today due to an IT failure that occurred on Thursday.
The post Bank holiday chaos at UK airports and ports as e-gates fail appeared first on Travel Gossip.
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The Home Office has confirmed that arriving passengers are not able to use any of the e-gates, which is leading to long queues at many airports.
The IT system that process ferry passengers leaving from the Port of Dover also failed earlier today, leading to two-hour queues.
Up to 80% of passengers arriving at UK airports usually go through e-gates, but now every passenger must be processed manually.
All airports that use e-gates are affected, including London Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester.
Departing passengers from airports are not affected.
A Home Office spokesperson said there had been 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,” they said.
Ferry passengers departing from Dover were facing two-hour queues early today. The Port tweeted at around 9am to say its IT issue had been resolved and the average waiting time for cars and coaches was 90 minutes.
Separately, some British Airways passengers are understood to be facing further cancellations and delays today due to an IT failure that occurred on Thursday.
The post Bank holiday chaos at UK airports and ports as e-gates fail appeared first on Travel Gossip.
Continue reading...
