The recent chaos at e-gates across the UK’s busiest airports, which led to extensive queues and stranded travelers, was reportedly triggered by a Home Office oversight in communicating a software update to BT, according to reports.
The malfunction affected the main Border Force security database, ‘Border Crossing,’ which was implemented at a cost of £372 million almost three years ago. As a result of the shutdown earlier this week, Border Force officers had to resort to manual passport checks against backup databases due to the e-gates’ inability to function without access to the IT system.
The Home Office’s Wi-Fi outage, believed to have caused the e-gates’ crash, occurred because BT was not informed about a software update, leading to an overload of the Home Office network. This oversight reportedly culminated in the widespread e-gate chaos experienced on Tuesday.
This incident marks the fourth major malfunction of the system since its launch three years ago. Home Office Minister Tom Pursglove expressed apologies to affected travelers, some of whom were compelled to spend the night in airports.
In response to the situation, Pursglove assured that every possible lesson would be learned to prevent such occurrences in the future. However, Labour’s Home Affairs spokesman Dan Jarvis criticised the reliability of the e-gates system, stating that it risks further damaging public trust in the government’s management of border security.
Travel expert Simon Calder emphasized the potential for holiday plans to unravel due to such disruptions, cautioning travelers to be prepared for unexpected challenges.
The e-gates, installed at 15 airports and railway stations across the country, play a critical role in cross-checking facial recognition scans with Border Force’s security database. However, the recent IT chaos underscores the need for robust communication and oversight in managing critical infrastructure systems.
