Border control staff were unable to access databases after torrential downpours triggered a power surge at the Bedfordshire terminal on Tuesday (June 7).
The bad weather left a reported 1,500 newly-landed passengers queuing while officials battled to fix the fault. Problems were not reported at any other airports.
According to The Telegraph, issues first began around 4pm as downpours passed over the area.
Passengers told the newspaper that they had witnessed border officials attempt to log into their computers, but found themselves locked out.
After 20 minutes a queue of around 1,500 people had built up.
A passenger stuck in the line who did not wish to be identified told The Telegraph they were frustrated by a “lack of information” from the terminal. “Twenty border staff or more were desperately trying to log into these computers. People were getting increasingly annoyed. It was the lack of information that was angering people. Those at the back had absolutely no idea what was happening.”
An airport spokesperson said during the problems: “The issue was caused by thunder storms in the local area. We are working hard with UK Border Force to resolve the issue as soon as possible.”
Staff later used laptops to log in remotely to the Home Office’s database of criminals, extremists and illegal migrants enabling the queue of travellers to be processed.
