It has not been confirmed how many airports were affected but reports indicated it was widespread and had been ongoing since before 8pm….reports Asian Lite News
Passengers were ‘stuck on planes’ after landing as huge queues formed at Manchester Airport amid a ‘technical issue’.
Border Force eGates, which are automated self-service barriers which use data stored in a chip in biometric passports, crashed at major airports across the UK, including in Manchester, Gatwick and Heathrow.
The issue caused long delays at the border, with some passengers complaining of 80-minute waits in Manchester, with others claiming they were sat on planes for around 30 minutes after landing due to the size of the ‘crazy’ queues.
One woman said: “We have just been allowed of the plane to immigration and it’s crazy. Stayed on the plane for about 30 minutes as immigration refused to accept us – now we are in a massive queue.”
Another passenger said he was queueing up for around 80 minutes after the eGates were hit by the outage in Manchester, which also impacted other airports nationwide.
“We are clear and through now,” he said. “Was there about 1 hour 20 minutes. We were handed bottled water as it was red hot with no air conditioning”
Another person posted on X, formerly Twitter: “System down at Manchester Airport, over 1,000 people packed in the hall at immigration, border force staff handing out bottles of water.”
It has not been confirmed how many airports were affected but reports indicated it was widespread and had been ongoing since before 8pm.
Manchester Airport was among those that issued statements on the fault on Tuesday evening, apologising for the long delays faced by passengers that had landed, only to face winding queues.
A statement said: “UK Border Force is experiencing nationwide issues affecting eGates at a number of airports, including Manchester. Our teams are supporting UK Border Force staff to minimise disruption to passengers while they fix the problem.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused during this time and thank you for your patience and understanding.”
It has not been confirmed how many airports are affected but social media reports indicate it is widespread and has been ongoing since before 8pm on Tuesday.
A Home Office spokesperson said the ‘technical issue’ was nationwide. adding: “We are aware of a technical issue affecting eGates across the country. We are working closely with Border Force and affected airports to resolve the issue as soon as possible and apologise to all passengers for the inconvenience caused.”
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.
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