{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/9475d117-fcd4-4915-a6f3-923941e7aa0d/663b9556f5bc74001268fcca?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Airports e-gate travel chaos & dodging passport trouble","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/61ba05fc1a8cbed4343cf0e6/1715180869705-879df0e78487fdfa24b63845a0a23948.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>There were no happy landings at UK airports after a national IT network meltdown left passport e-gates firmly closed - and many thousands of exhausted travellers stranded.</p><p>The tech failure bricked e-gates to blank screens as Border Force officials at airports including Heathrow, Stansted and Luton processed passengers the old-fashioned way - by hand, at the desk.</p><p>Some travellers complained of waiting for hours without food and water - or even bed town on terminal floors as onwards transport options were overcrowded or services had finished for the night.</p><p>For the latest on the travel implications for your summer holiday - and some important passport news, The Standard podcast is joined on the line by Sean Tipton, spokesperson for travel association Abta.</p><p> </p>","author_name":"The Evening Standard"}