One Heathrow passenger tweeted that he had been in a passport control queue for four hours. Another said he had been in line for two hours just to get to the real line, where he would spend another hour. In these lines, a border guard screens passengers individually based on their passport and a few sentences.
There are over 270 e-gates in the UK where you can enter the country without border guards by scanning your passport.
In addition to Britons and EU citizens over the age of 12, they can also be used by people from many other countries, including Australia, Canada, the United States, Japan and New Zealand, and they cut border crossing times to a minimum. They have now been discontinued, so everyone has to stand in the regular queue and wait for the much slower in-person screening.
Heathrow staff apologise for the inconvenience, adding that the e-gates are operated by Border Force, with whom they are “working closely” to restore order as soon as possible.
The Ministry of Interior also confirmed that those arriving in their countries should expect delays and inconvenience at this time.
We are aware of the issue with the national border system affecting those arriving in the UK. We are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. We are liaising with airport operators and airlines to minimise inconvenience to passengers.”
The official spokesman added: For a British newspaper.
In addition to airports, chaos also reigns on public roads in the UK. Since the pandemic, the weekend has not been very busy in the archipelago, as the weather has been very good, and many people are taking trips while on the road. Long traffic jams have formed in many places, and this is what motorists should expect throughout the weekend.
Traffic data company Inrix is warning travellers that journeys could take up to three times longer on some sections of the M25, but significant delays are also expected on the M5 in Somerset and the M6 in Cheshire and Greater Manchester. Passengers on the Dover ferry have been advised to wait two hours to complete border control and check-in before the e-gate closes. Experts recommend that if anyone is travelling, they should leave early in the morning or late at night if possible to avoid traffic jams.
