Heathrow and Gatwick airports hit by UK border gates failure

LONDON -London's Heathrow and Gatwick, Britain's busiest airports, said on Friday the e-gates used to control entry into the country had stopped working due to a systems failure that was affecting multiple ports of entry into Britain.

One passenger at Heathrow said it was chaos in the terminal, with space to queue rapidly running out.

The e-gates are staffed and operated by Britain's Border Force, a department of the interior ministry.

"Our teams are working with Border Force to find a solution as quickly as possible," Heathrow said on Twitter.

Passengers at Heathrow had already endured lengthy queues this summer as staff struggled to process COVID-19 documentation in addition to passports and visas.