Widespread failures of electronic passport gate systems across UK airports has today caused long delays for people arriving in the country - as the final bank holiday getaway of May takes place.
Travellers taking to social media detailed having to wait in lengthy queues for hours at a time at a number of popular airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick in the capital, as they were forced to have their passports checked by hand.
It comes after automated machines at a number of UK airports failed, leaving travellers to revert to the old-fashioned physical way of checking in upon arrival - on a weekend where millions are expected to take to the roads and public transport.
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One traveller landing at Heathrow this morning, said: "Just landed to scenes of utter chaos. 2 hour queues just to get to the real queue. Gates broken," while another at Gatwick dubbed the situation an 'utter joke'.
The PA News Agency reports that a spokesman for Gatwick Airport revealed problems occurring yesterday evening, but claiming that queues had eased by today. He 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."
Meanwhile, Heathrow's official Twitter account, added: "We are aware of a nationwide issue impacting the eGates, which are operated by Border Force. This issue is impacting a number of ports of entry and is not Heathrow specific.
"Our teams are working closely with Border Force to help resolve the problem as quickly as possible and we have additional colleagues on hand to manage queues and provide passenger welfare. We apologise for any impact this is having to passenger journeys."
Elsewhere, the Home Office confirmed that the Border Force had installed 'robust plans' to deploy officers, in a bid to minimise disruption and waiting times at airports.
The automated e-gate system is available for British citizens to use, should they be over the age of 12. Those travelling to Britain from the EU are also eligible to use them, as well as citizens of several other countries including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States of America and Japan.
The Home Office spokesperson, said: "We are aware of a nationwide border system issue affecting arrivals into the UK. We are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible and are liaising with port operators and airlines to minimise disruption for travellers.”
It comes after leading flight provider British Airways were forced to cancel 175 journeys through an IT failure on Thursday and Friday. Meanwhile, long queues began to form in Dover, where IT problems were also being experienced.
Taking to social media, The Port of Dover, said: "Thank you for your patience as we catch up from earlier IT issues at border control, which have been resolved. Traffic now processing well through border. Average waiting times for cars and coaches now 90 mins."
The RAC prior estimated that drivers spanning the United Kingdom will make 19.2million car trips for leisure over the course of the four day weekend - the busiest ever late May bank holiday since 2019.
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