If you want to enter Great Britain over Pentecost weekend, you need strong nerves: electricity

Due to the failure of electronic passport control at British airports, passengers should expect long lines when entering Great Britain today. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that problems with electronic gates at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and other airports began on Friday evening.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office’s Border, Customs and Immigration Workers union warned on BBC Radio 4 that queues would form “very quickly”.

Depending on the airport, 60 to 80 percent of travelers have gone through electronic gates. Your passports must now be scanned manually. That takes longer. The spokeswoman said: “There is no impact on national security.”

Electronic passport control is available to Britons over the age of 12 and citizens of the European Union and some other countries including Australia, Canada, the United States, Japan and New Zealand. Travelers can scan their passports themselves. Electronic facial recognition is used to verify their identity. They will also be photographed as they pass through the gate.

various problems

In the port of Dover, there were previously IT problems with the controls when leaving Great Britain. France’s passport control system temporarily failed on Saturday morning, causing queues.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) quoted a spokesman for the British Home Office as saying, “We are working to solve the problem as soon as possible, and we are in contact with port operators and airlines to reduce disruption to travelers.”

The British airline, British Airways, has already canceled several flights at London Heathrow ahead of the Pentecost weekend due to IT problems. Sometimes, IT systems were completely paralyzed. Communications within Great Britain and Europe were particularly affected.