Passengers and tourists entering in Britain experienced pandemonium at electronic gates due to a problem with the country’s border system.
Images from major airports showed growing lines as people tried to have their flights booked before the holiday weekend and the school break.
Because of the malfunction, passports will now have to be examined by hand instead of by machine.
Angry tourists resorted to social media to complain about the lengthy wait times to get their passports checked.
A Home Office official told AWN on Saturday, “We are aware of a nationwide border system issue affecting arrivals into the UK.”
The spokeswoman continued, “We are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible and are liaising with port operators and airlines to minimise disruption for travellers.”
The eGates, which are run by Border Force, are experiencing widespread issues, according to a London Heathrow airport official.
This isn’t only a problem at Heathrow; it’s affecting other airports and border crossings. We have extra staff on hand to manage lines and ensure the safety of passengers as our teams work closely with Border Force to find a solution.
According to Immigration Services Union representative Lucy Morton’s interview on BBC Radio 4, between 60 and 80 percent of passengers use e-gates.
Every arriving passenger will be seen by a human, not a machine, thus there will be no negative effect on national security, she argued.
However, this causes further issues due to the formation of lines. When customers are angry, they sometimes vent their frustrations on employees. Workers are subjected to verbal harassment and, on rare occasions, physical violence. Everything will start to snowball over the day.
