The UK’s fledgling Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme is experiencing its first major holiday-weekend traffic surge, and early reports from travellers suggest performance is patchy. Multiple Reddit threads posted overnight describe difficulties updating passport details and retrieving boarding passes when airline systems fail to recognise an approved ETA. Most complaints relate to edge-case scenarios—dual nationals using a non-UK passport, applicants awaiting spouse-visa decisions, and travellers who renewed passports after applying for an ETA. In each case, the mobile-app help text offers little guidance, forcing passengers to seek manual overrides at check-in. One user reported a 45-minute desk-side call between airline staff and Border Force to confirm that an ETA remained valid despite the passport number mismatch. The Home Office told media outlets that “systems are operating within expected parameters”, noting that over 450,000 ETAs have been granted since phased rollout began in April. Nonetheless, carrier sources say they have escalated requests for an automated passport-update API to prevent manual work-arounds. Business-travel managers are advising employees to double-check that the passport linked to their ETA will still be valid on the day of travel and, if necessary, to reapply—a process that costs £18 and currently takes about 30 minutes. Users should also carry digital or printed copies of their approval e-mail in case airline systems fail to sync. With peak summer departures set to continue through late August, the weekend’s issues will be a key barometer of whether the ETA infrastructure can handle the exponential growth expected once the scheme becomes mandatory for US, Canadian and EU passport holders next year.
Source: Reddit user reports (aggregated)
