Airports confirm nationwide border issue as e-gate problems cause delays
The Home Office has confirmed airports across the country are being impacted by problems with UK Border Force e-gates
Travellers are facing severe delays across the UK as airports confirm a nationwide issue to border services.
Heathrow, Stanstead, Manchester, Gatwick and Glasgow airports airports have all confirmed they are impacted by problems with UK Border Force e-gates.
Images and footage shared on social media on Tuesday evening appeared to show long queues forming at the gates, which scan passports.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are aware of a technical issue affecting e-gates 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.”
Nathan Lane, a passenger stuck in Heathrow, told ITV News: “They really seemed to be having a meltdown. It seemed to be happening right when we landed. Staff were yelling and all the e-gates were down - so immediately it was clear something bad was happening.
"It took me about two hours I’d say, and we were towards the front. I can’t even imagine for the people who kept being added to the back of the queue."
Kevin Wood, who was stuck in Stanstead, told ITV News: “I believe that there has been a nationwide IT failure at Border Force.
"At Stanstead Airport I was sent back from e-passport machines to join the queue for manual checks then queue stopped and we weren’t moving as more and more people joined.
"We were patronised with repeated apology announcements regarding the failure. After an age (about an hour) we started moving as they slowly populated the booths."
Posting to X, formerly Twitter, Heathrow airport wrote: “We are aware 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 we apologise for any impact.”
A Manchester Airport spokesperson 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 said: “We are aware of an issue with UK Border Force’s systems across the country, affecting all UK airports.
“Our operational and customer service colleagues are supporting passengers while UK Border Force and the Home Office fix the issue.”
Glasgow Airport said in a post on social media: "Passengers arriving back on international flights within the next few hours may experience longer than normal waiting times at the border. This is due to a nationwide Border Force issue."
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