WATCH: Long queues at London’s Gatwick Airport as UK airports encounter border system glitch

Passengers flying into Britain faced major delays after landing at airports on Saturday (May 27) due to a nationwide issue affecting the automated border control gates that scan passports upon arrival.
Images posted on social media showed long queues with hundreds of people at London's Gatwick and Heathrow airports with frustrated passengers complaining of having to wait several hours in line.

"We are aware of a nationwide border system issue affecting arrivals into the UK," said a spokesperson for the The government's interior ministry, which has oversight of border control said it was working to solve the problem.

Heathrow, Britain's busiest airport, said it had deployed extra staff to manage the queues and was working with Border Force to help resolve the problem.

While many foreign visitors to the UK need to see a border control officer upon landing, others, including British, EU and US citizens, can use the automated gates known as e-gates to scan their passports and enter the country.

The disruption, which comes during a busy period for travel in Britain with a spring bank holiday on Monday and a half-term break for schools next week, means all passengers have to be processed at manual checkpoints.

The BBC reported Eurostar passengers had also been affected with problems hitting the system at the Gare de Nord station in Paris.

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The immigration hall at Gatwick Airport should be a football stadium size to contain the queues.
They should also open some mobile coffee shops and place mobile toilets for those waiting.