Footage from a queue at Heathrow Airport, as Border Force reopens after a widespread outage left travellers waiting hours to process through passport control.
Long queues at UK airports this morning were caused by a Wi-Fi outage that knocked out a disaster-prone £372million IT system used to carry out security checks on passengers.
Border Crossing, which was introduced just under three years ago at a cost of £372million and is now supported by Fujitsu, checks travellers' names against terrorism records, the Police National Computer and immigration records. 'The more e-gates you have, the fewer humans are there. The gates also take up space, so there is less room for desks.
The Warnings Index is still available as a back-up but is due to be switched off permanently soon, it is understood. Speaking to MailOnline from a sprawling queue at Edinburgh airport this morning, a passenger named Jenny said she had been flying from Copenhagen with Ryanair when the e-gates suddenly closed.
However for many the ordeal was only just beginning with queues for coaches and taxis leaving the airport also lasting hours, forcing many passengers to bed down on the floor. She said that people were told that the airport was working on a contingency to check passenger's documents. Kylee Charles, who was among those stuck in queues at Gatwick, told MailOnline: 'We were caught up in the chaos. We've only just got out of Gatwick after waiting in huge queues of disgruntled travellers.
After more than an hour, Felix said he only moved about 30 metres - despite announcements that the e-gates were up and running again.
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