Passengers flying into Britain on Saturday experienced long queues and frustration as a nationwide issue affected the automated border control gates that scan passports upon arrival.
The problem impacted several airports across the country, including London’s Heathrow and Gatwick, which are among the busiest in Europe.
Heathrow said it had deployed extra staff to manage the queues and was working with Border Force to help resolve the issue.
A spokesperson for the British government’s interior ministry, which has oversight of border control, said they were aware of the issue and were working to fix it as soon as possible.
They also said they were liaising with port operators and airlines to minimise disruption for travellers.
Some passengers took to social media to vent their anger and share images of hundreds of people waiting in line for hours.
One passenger at Heathrow tweeted: “Been stuck in immigration for 2 hours now. No explanation. No apology. No water. No social distancing.”
Another passenger at Gatwick wrote: “Absolute chaos at Gatwick airport. Border control system down. Hundreds of people queuing.”