Worldwide airline passengers arriving at Heathrow Airport close to London and at different airports in Britain had been going through lengthy strains at immigration checkpoints on Tuesday night after the nation’s Border Pressure reported a nationwide laptop outage, officers stated.
“Border Pressure is presently experiencing a nationwide problem which is impacting passengers being processed by way of the border,” Heathrow, the nation’s largest airport, stated on social media at 9:15 p.m.
The issue was additionally affecting Manchester Airport, Gatwick Airport close to London and Belfast International Airport in Northern Eire. The general variety of affected airports wasn’t clear.
Officers stated that the issue originated with the Border Force’s “eGates,” immigration checkpoints that course of arriving passengers by way of the border.
Officers at Gatwick and Manchester Airports stated that there have been no flight delays or cancellations associated to the outage, however stated that they had been working with Border Pressure officers to help passengers experiencing delays at immigration.
It was unclear when the outage started or what particularly triggered it. An inquiry emailed to the U.Ok.’s House Workplace, which administers the Border Pressure, was not instantly returned Tuesday.
Photographs on social media showed crammed, stagnant lines in entrance of a row of gates beneath indicators that learn “UK Border” at Heathrow Airport.