Heathrow blighted by 'mile-long queues' due to broken e-gates

At least 16 electronic passport scanners at Terminal 5 were out of action for hours on Wednesday

Passengers queueing for passport control after landing at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday morning. Photo: Salman S Chaudhry / Twitter

Passengers at Heathrow Airport were forced to join “mile-long queues” for passport control on Wednesday morning because electronic gates were not working.

Frustrated travellers vented their anger on Twitter, describing the situation as an “absolute farce” and said at least one person had fainted while being forced to stand in line for an hour.

Dr Glenn Flint was among crowds of people caught up in chaotic scenes after disembarking and posted a photo showing at least 16 e-gates at Terminal 5 that were out of action.

Sally Hardy, meanwhile, tweeted: “Passport queue at Heathrow Terminal 5 is a mile long and has just double backed on itself.”

Another traveller wrote: “Already been an hour. One person has just passed out.”

Jamie Heath demanded answers from the airport over the long queues. “Can you explain the massive queues at immigration please?” he said. “Why do you allow this to happen? The numbers of passengers arriving is known weeks in advance.”

Ben Heyworth described the situation as an “absolute farce” and said: “So the queue for UK passport holders is massive and the rest of the world empty!”

Others shared photos of lengthy queues for passport control at Terminal 3 and said there was a large backup of people waiting to pass through security at Terminal 4.

“Only 3 security posts open in T4,” said a passenger called Peter. “More than double that closed. Incompetent management here.”

Salman Chaudhry described being caught up in "the longest immigration queue I have ever seen".

A spokeswoman for Heathrow told The National there were “minor issues” with Terminal 5’s e-gates early on Wednesday but by mid-morning they had been resolved after staff worked with Border Force, which is part of the Home Office, to find a solution.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “This morning a technical issue affected e-gates at London Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5. The issue was quickly identified and has been resolved.

"We worked hard to minimise disruption and apologise to all passengers for the inconvenience caused.”

People wait in a corridor at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday morning to have their passport's checked. Photo: Jamie Heath / Twitter

Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, has in recent weeks experienced numerous issues including a backlog of uncollected luggage.

Photos showing hundreds of suitcases stacked up sparked a barrage of criticism online, after passengers were forced to go home without retrieving their bags. Like other airports, Heathrow’s day-to-day operations have suffered setbacks due to a shortage of staff including baggage handlers.

The aviation regulator told Heathrow it must reduce its passenger charges, as demand for flights continues to rise.

The Civil Aviation Authority on Tuesday said the cap on the west London airport’s average charge per passenger should fall from £30.19 to £26.31 by 2026 — equivalent to nearly a 6 per cent reduction each year when the effects of inflation are removed, the regulator said.

The decision follows a bitter dispute between the airport and airlines about what the cap should be.

Charges are paid by airlines but are generally passed on to passengers in air fares.

Heathrow was given permission to increase its average fees on January 1 from the previous level of £19.60 due to the collapse in passenger numbers caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. But the five-year control period from 2022 to 2026 announced by the CAA would see that cap slashed to the lower end of what the regulator had been considering.

The CAA said these are its “final proposals”, with a “final decision” due to be published in the autumn.

Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye criticised the regulator, saying it “continues to underestimate what it takes to deliver a good passenger service, both in terms of the level of investment and operating costs required and the fair incentive needed for private investors to finance it”.

Heathrow through the years

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  Heathrow Airport in London, the UK's busiest, has been a travel hub for decades. Here The National takes a look back at Heathrow through the years. All photos: Getty Images

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  An Airco De Havilland biplane of the British airline, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, about to leave on the company’s inaugural flight from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome, later known as Heathrow, to Le Bourget, Paris, in August 1919

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  Waterlogged runways at London Airport - Heathrow's original name - one week before it became Britain's main aerial gateway to the US in 1946

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  The new BOAC maintenance headquarters at London Airport circa 1955

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  The air traffic control room at the airport's new terminal in 1955

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  US film star Marilyn Monroe with her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, after arriving at the airport in July 1956

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  An aerial view showing the runways in 1958

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  The arrivals and departures board in 1960

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  A new airport gift shop, selling items by Chanel, Wedgwood and Pringle of Scotland, in 1961

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  The Queen's Building and the No. 1 Building Europa at Heathrow in 1965

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  The Beatles leave Heathrow for Salzburg in Austria, to resume filming of the movie Help!, in 1965

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  Passenger terminal gates at Heathrow in 1966

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  Keith Granville, managing director of BOAC, holding up a model of the Boeing 747 jet, with the new aircraft hangars under construction in the background, at Heathrow in 1969

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  An aerial view of Heathrow in 1970

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  Passengers boarding the first BOAC Jumbo Jet 747 used for a commercial flight, from London Heathrow to New York, in 1971

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  Passengers going through the departure lounge at Heathrow in 1973

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  Concorde takes off from Heathrow on her first commercial flight for British Airways in 1976

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  Men at work finalising the Heathrow Central underground station before its opening in 1977

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  Queen Elizabeth II passing though the Tube gates at Heathrow Central station on its opening in 1977

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  An aerial view of Heathrow in 1978

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  Passengers waiting near a departures board in 1979

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  Holidaymakers waiting in the departure lounge at Terminal 3 of Heathrow in 1981

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  British Airways employees protesting at Heathrow in 1984

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  Passengers and staff observe a silence in Heathrow's Terminal One to mark the beginning of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997

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  Rower Steve Redgrave at Heathrow with daughters Sophie and Natalie and son Zak after returning from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with his gold medal

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  Spectators watch the last Concorde land at Heathrow in 2003

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  Fans surround the coach carrying the England rugby team at Heathrow, as they arrived from Sydney after winning the World Cup in 2003

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  Heathrow's Terminal 2 in 2004

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  Passengers queue to check in at Terminal 1 of Heathrow Airport during the Christmas 2006 and New Year period

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  Passengers wait at Terminal 1 on August 10, 2006, after airport security was raised to critical when a terrorist plot to blow up planes in mid-flight from the UK to the US was disrupted by police

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  Planes queueing to take off at Heathrow in 2007

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  The new Terminal 5 at Heathrow in 2008

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  Aircraft at Heathrow Airport in front of the London skyline in 2016

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  Members of Team GB arrive from Rio de Janeiro at Heathrow, after returning from the 2016 Olympics, which saw Great Britain's strongest performance at the Games in over a century

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  A composite photo shows planes taking off from Heathrow in November 2016. Forty-two planes were captured between 10.17am and 11.17am and a montage was created from those single images

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  Items are arranged during an auction preview at Heathrow in 2018. The contents of Terminal 1, which closed in 2015, were being sold

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  An airline passenger wearing a face mask pushes her bags through Heathrow's Terminal 5 during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020

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  British Airways employees welcome Olympians returning from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021

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  Travellers wait in a long queue to pass through the security check in 2022