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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Jack Simpson and Rajeev Syal

What went wrong with the electronic passport gates at UK airports?

People wait in line at Heathrow airport, after the Border Force suffered a nationwide technical issue that affected passport control, in London, Britain.
People wait in line at Heathrow airport, after the Border Force suffered a nationwide technical issue that affected passport control, in London, Britain. Photograph: Sam Morter/Reuters

Thousands of passengers were left waiting in queues for more than three hours at airports, on Tuesday evening, after a nationwide failure of the electronic passport gate technology system.

Nearly all major British airports were affected as the country’s 270 e-gates, the automated facial recognition systems at the border, were closed for more than four hours.

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