UK Border Force

Passport gate failures leave UK passengers queueing for hours

Technical problem hits vital automated border control system at airports across the country

Passengers at Heathrow and other UK airports were hit by lengthy delays on Friday © Guy Faulconbridge/Reuters

Robert Wright in London SEPTEMBER 24 2021

Passengers at border arrival points across the UK, including Heathrow airport,
faced hours-long queues at passport control on Friday after a system controlling
automated gates failed.

People caught in the delays tweeted pictures of lengthy queues following the issue,
which airports said was “nationwide” and which the Home Office said had resulted
from a technical failure involving automated eGates at “a number of ports”.

“The issue was quickly identified and has now been resolved,” said the Home
Office, which through Border Force is responsible for passport checks and
operating of the eGates.

The automated gates are critical to the functioning of the UK’s busiest border posts
because they process large numbers of travellers more quickly than Border Force
officials can do manually.

Friday’s delays were the latest of several incidents over the past 18 months when
passport check delays have led to waits of hours at UK borders.

There were reports in August of queues lasting hours at Heathrow, the UK’s busiest
airport, after large numbers of Border Force officers were told to self-isolate after
coming into contact with people infected with Covid-19.
Immigration staff have also had to respond to a series of changes to border
controls, including the ending of free movement between the UK and EU following
the end of the Brexit transition period in December and the enforcement of
coronavirus travel restrictions.

Louis Theroux, the documentary film-maker, on Friday tweeted a picture of

himself at the end of a lengthy queue at Heathrow airport’s Terminal 5, describing
it as a “human logjam”.

One passenger, David Mitchell, tweeted that it had taken him four hours to leave
Heathrow as a result of the problem. Another Twitter user, Sarah Rushbrooke,
tweeted a picture of a lengthy queue at Manchester airport and called the delay
“not acceptable”.

The system failure comes as passenger numbers through UK airports have been
increasing following the relaxation of most Covid travel rules for fully vaccinated
people.

As well as Heathrow and Manchester, Edinburgh airport tweeted that Border Force
was working to resolve an “IT issue” that was resulting in delays for arriving
passengers.

“Passengers will still be able to pass through the border but this will take a little
longer than usual while the issue is resolved,” Edinburgh airport wrote.

The Home Office was unable to say how many ports of entry were affected and did
not immediately explain the reason for the failure of the gates.

Manchester Airports Group, owner of East Midlands airport and Stansted as well
as Manchester airport, said all of its facilities had experienced problems “for a
short period”.

“We will continue to support [Border Force] as they clear the backlog of
passengers,” the operator said.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2021. All rights reserved.