Friday, May 31, 2024 Eurostar passengers faced monumental delays on May 30th due to a technical glitch with the UK’s eGate system, raising concerns about its reliability and future readiness. Eurostar passengers traveling between London and Paris experienced significant delays and cancellations on Thursday, May 30th, due to a technical malfunction with the UK’s eGate system. This marks the second such incident in a month, raising concerns about the system’s reliability.
The outage affected passport control at both London St Pancras International and Paris Gare du Nord stations, leaving passengers queued for approximately four hours. Eurostar issued a formal apology for the disruption, and the Home Office confirmed a resolution to the issue by Thursday evening. Efforts are underway to fully restore normal service.
This recent failure follows a nationwide eGate malfunction at major UK airports on May 7th, which caused significant delays for arriving passengers and necessitated manual processing by Border Force staff. The recurring outages have prompted anxieties regarding the UK’s preparedness for new EU border regulations scheduled to be implemented later this year. Speaking in Parliament on May 8th, Labour’s shadow Home Office minister for security, Dan Jarvis, highlighted these concerns, stating that the incidents “raised questions” about the UK’s ability to adapt to the upcoming changes.
This is not an isolated incident, as the eGate system experienced simil.
