Passengers will have to wait in long queues when entering Great Britain on Saturday due to a failure of electronic passport control at British airports. Problems with e-gates at Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports began on Friday evening, the BBC reported.
A spokesman for the UK Home Office Borders, Customs and Immigration Union told BBC Radio 4 that queues would build up “very, very quickly”.
Depending on the airport, typically 60 to 80 percent of passengers pass through the e-gates. Your passports must now be checked manually. It will take more time. But: “There is no impact on national security,” the spokesman said.
Electronic passport control is available to Britons aged 12 and over, EU citizens and some countries including Australia, Canada, the US, Japan and New Zealand. Passengers can scan their passports themselves. Electronic facial recognition is used to verify their identity. A photo will also be taken as they pass through the gate.
At the port of Dover, there have previously been IT issues with controls when leaving the UK. The French passport control system temporarily failed on Saturday morning, causing queues.
“We are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible and are liaising with port operators and airlines to minimize disruption to passengers,” a British Home Office spokesman said on Saturday, according to the BBC.
British airline British Airways had already canceled several flights at London’s Heathrow Airport ahead of the Pentecost weekend due to IT problems. Sometimes, IT systems are completely down. Connections within Great Britain and Europe were particularly affected.
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