UK airports: Passport e-gates have stopped working

People who are arriving at UK airports are reportedly facing delays as electronic passport gates have stopped working, the Home Office has confirmed.

According to the BBC, a 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.”

What airports in the UK are affected by electronic passport gates not working?

Broken Britain.

We have been told that the e-passport gates have stopped working, meaning that thousands of passengers are stuck at Luton Airport waiting to go through passport control.

Many have been waiting for 3/4+ hours to go through.

What an absolute mess.@LDNLutonAirport pic.twitter.com/C3OgiHyeUi

— Anna McGovern (@AnnaMcGovernUK) May 27, 2023

At the time of writing, all airports across the country that use the gates are affected, reports the BBC.

It’s thought the systems originally stopped working last night and this means passengers flying in are having to queue to get their passports checked manually.

What are electronic passport gates at UK airports?

The electronic passport gates are automated self-service barriers operated by the UK Border Force and located at immigration checkpoints in arrival halls in some airports across the UK.

The purpose of the electronic system is to speed up passport controls.

The gates use facial recognition technology to verify the traveller’s identity against the data stored in the chip in their passport.

Lucy Morton, from the Immigration Services Union, has spoken to BBC Radio 4, warning that queues would build “very, very quickly”.

All electronic passport gates at UK airports for people arriving in the country are down. The Home Office says it’s working to resolve the issue as soon as possible and is liaising with port operators and airlines to minimise disruption for travellers.

— Simon Jones (@SimonJonesNews) May 27, 2023

“You end up putting all the passengers through physically-manned officer desks.

“Staff can’t take the breaks that they should be taking … the whole thing will snowball very quickly.”

She also said between 60-80% of travelling passengers are usually processed by the e-gates, but it depends on the airport.

However, Morton confirmed “there’s no impact on national security,” explaining that travellers will still be fully checked.

“But it will build queues,” she added.