Airport delays: Latest from Heathrow and Gatwick as e-passport gates cause travel chaos Bank Holiday Saturday

Failures with the passport e-gate system at UK airports have caused long delays for those arriving in the country as the bank holiday getaway gets under way.

Travellers have described on social media queues of several hours at a number of airports including Heathrow and Gatwick as arrivals need to have their passports checked by hand rather than the automated machines.

The problems came as millions are expected to take to the roads and public transport this weekend.

One traveller arriving at Heathrow posted on Twitter: “Just landed to scenes of utter chaos. 2 hour queues just to get to the real queue. Gates broken.”

Another passenger at Gatwick described the situation as an “utter joke”.

Flyers faced travel chaos on Saturday after failures with the passport e-gate system at UK airports caused lengthy delays as the bank holiday getaway kicks off.

Disgruntled travellers took to social media to bemoan several hours waiting at airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick, as arrivals need to have their passports checked by hand rather than the automated machines.

The problems came as millions are expected to take to the roads and public transport this weekend, with some lengthy queues already impacting travellers at the Port of Dover.

One traveller arriving at Heathrow posted on Twitter: “Just landed to scenes of utter chaos. 2 hour queues just to get to the real queue. Gates broken.”

Another passenger at Gatwick described the situation as an “utter joke”.

Saturday was the UK’s hottest day of the year, the Met Office has confirmed.

Temperatures reached as high as 24.3C in Bramham, West Yorkshire, the forecaster said.

The warm bank holiday is expected to continue into Sunday, although it is not predicted to be quite as warm.

Temperatures are expected to reach up to 23C in Plymouth.

Heading north it will be increasingly cooler, with larger spells of cloud than the day before.

The RAC estimated that drivers across the UK will embark on 19.2 million leisure car trips between Friday and Monday making it the busiest late May bank holiday since 2019.

Transport data company Inrix warned that journeys on some stretches of the M25 will take up to three times longer than normal.

They include clockwise from Junction 23 for Hatfield to Junction 28 for Chelmsford, and anticlockwise towards the Dartford Crossing.

Long delays are also expected on the M5 in Somerset and the M6 in Cheshire and Greater Manchester.

A Gatwick Airport spokesperson said the problem started on Friday evening but queues had eased on Saturday morning.

He said: “Some passengers may experience delays at immigration due to a nationwide issue with UK Border Force e-gates.

“Our staff are working with UK Border Force – who operate passport control including the e-gates – to provide assistance to passengers where necessary.”

Heathrow Airport posted on Twitter: “We are aware of a nationwide issue impacting the eGates, which are operated by Border Force.

“This issue is impacting a number of ports of entry and is not Heathrow specific.

“Our teams are working closely with Border Force to help resolve the problem as quickly as possible and we have additional colleagues on hand to manage queues and provide passenger welfare. We apologise for any impact this is having to passenger journeys.”

The travel chaos at airports across the UK, including Gatwick, comes ahead of strike action affecting the Gatwick Express over the upcoming week.

There will be no Gatwick Express trains on 31 May and 3 June, while an amended timetable will be in place on 1 June and a limited service on 2 June.