Thousands of passengers are experiencing significant delays at various UK airports due to a nationwide outage of Border Force e-gates. The technical issue, impacting airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester, Luton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, East Midlands, Southampton, and Aberdeen, started before 8 pm on Tuesday. As a result, queues for manual passport checks have extended, with some delays lasting up to two hours.

Airports, such as Heathrow and Stansted, are actively working with the Border Force to manage the situation and assist passengers with disruptions. Additional support and resources, including water distribution and increased staff presence, have been arranged to alleviate the inconvenience to travelers. Despite these efforts, many passengers have reported frustration over the lack of communication regarding when the issue will be resolved.

The Home Office has acknowledged the e-gate failure, attributing it to a technical glitch, and has assured that they are working on a resolution. This incident marks a recurring issue with e-gate reliability, following a similar disruption that occurred less than two weeks prior.

Currently, the specific root cause of the e-gate malfunction remains unspecified by the authorities. Passengers are advised to check for updates and are encouraged to allow additional time for airport processing while the issue persists. The e-gate outage coincides with ongoing industrial action affecting train services, further complicating travel for many individuals.