Stansted airport has apologised after passengers were left waiting for up to two hours at immigration while it trialled a new queuing system.
Holidaymakers returning to Britain were left waiting at the Essex airport on September 22 when the queue system was tested on arriving passengers.
A spokesman for Stansted, which is owned by BAA, said: “We were trialling the new systems and it did make the waiting times worse. It was totally unacceptable.
“All airports are seeing longer queues as every single person must have their passport swiped and checked.
“We will try to help but this is down to the border and immigration agencies.”
However he said that Stansted is also in the process of a £40 million extension in its arrival area which will be finished in June 2008 and will mean there will be a bigger immigration and customs area, which will ease queues.