07 May 2024 , 22:05
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Travel chaos has been reported at airports across the country after Border Control was apparently hit by a nationwide IT outage.
The issue has so far been confirmed to have affected Heathrow, Stansted, Gatwick and Manchester, with thousands of passengers now facing huge queues.
Photos posted to social media show scores of travellers standing in line waiting for their passports to be checked.
One person wrote on X: ‘E gates are down country wide… The joys of technology. Great when it works.’
Passengers facing long queues at Gatwick tonight (Picture: X/@pauluwagboe)
Heathrow is among the other major airports experiencing issues (Picture:X@sophie_woollen)
Ryanair customers due to land in the UK were warned via their app.
A notification read: ‘Please be advised that the Electronic Passport gates are temporarily unavailable at all UK Airports.
‘You may experience extended queue times at passport control in airports in the United Kingdom as a result of this outage.’
A Heathrow spokesperson said: ‘Border Force is currently experiencing a nationwide issue which is impacting passengers being processed through the border.
‘Our teams are supporting Border Force with their contingency plans to help resolve the problem as quickly as possible and are on hand to provide passenger welfare. We apologise for any impact this is having to passenger journeys.’
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.’
Manchester Airport also confirmed that the UK Border System is down as part of a nationwide outage.
A spokesman 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 the Home Office fix the issue.’
A London Gatwick spokesperson said: ‘Some passengers may experience delays at immigration due to a nationwide issue with UK Border Force e-gates.
‘Our staff are working with UK Border Force – who operate passport control including the e-gates – to provide assistance to passengers where necessary.’
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.