My job as Daily Express Technology Editor means I travel all over the world covering launches from the biggest firms on the planet. It means I’m well rehearsed on what to do when I arrive home and want to quickly whizz through Heathrow immigration and head home to the family. For years, it’s been a seamless experience, but the last few months have been a total nightmare.

I recently noticed my well-worn burgundy passport was completely full of stamps and just a few months from expiration. So I had no choice but to head online and apply for a brand-new travel document. Due to my busy schedule and the number of work trips abroad, I ended up using the UK’s one-day premium service to ensure I wasn’t left without a passport for upcoming events. This cost me a total of £235, including the standard £222 premium price and the option to add extra pages for frequent flyers.

So with my shiny new blue passport tucked in my bag, I was off on my first adventure to Europe, but on my return, I encountered an issue at Heathrow’s eGate.

Heading into the arrivals hall, I walked into the enclosure, placed my passport in the scanner, stared at the camera and waited. Using my old document, this process took seconds, but not this time. After three long attempts, the machine said no, and I found myself in a new queue to see a UK Border Force office.

I didn’t think anything of it, but the following week I was on another trip abroad, and the same thing happened again upon my return. Three attempts, and then the machine spat me back into the queue rather than letting me escape to the baggage hall.

Soon after, I was back at Heathrow for a third time in quick succession – and still no luck at the eGates.

It was then that I wondered if something was wrong with my new passport, so I asked the Border Force officer what I should do.

She instantly replied that there’s a “technical issue” with the new 2026 passports, and some aren’t working. She wouldn’t say how often she was seeing the issue, but she certainly wasn’t surprised that I was standing in front of her holding the latest version of the UK passport.

It wasn’t long before I was travelling again, and the frustration returned as soon as I got to passport control.

This time, one of the Heathrow help staff saw my passport and immediately pointed me straight to the Border Force team, rather than getting me to try to use the eGates again. That was a clear indication that I can’t be the only one suffering this nightmare.

Once I’d finally cleared immigration and was home, I contacted the Home Office for official comment and to see if they could offer any advice.

It seems the government department is completely unaware of any problems.

“We are not aware of any widespread issues with British passports used at eGates,” a Home Office spokesperson told me.

“While individuals may experience errors on rare occasions, the vast majority of travellers should expect a seamless experience with eGates.”

I was away again last week in Munich and, on my return, was blocked from passing through the electronic gates yet again.

As I approached the Border Force officer, he looked at me and said with a wry smile, “New passport, sir?”

According to that official, a fix is on its way, but if you have just got a brand new 2026 passport, you might face similar issues and the joy of queuing once for an eGate and then again to speak to Border Force.

I’ve now been asked to post my document to His Majesty’s Passport Office so “a full inspection and examination of the passport’s biometric chip” can be undertaken by the Faulty Chip/Damaged passport team.

As soon as I get a chance to package it up, write a covering letter, get to the post office and send it off recorded delivery, I’ll then find out if I’m simply unlucky or if this is a more serious problem affecting the system.

“We will write to you immediately when we have received the results of the examination,” the Passport Office confirmed.

Have you had issues with your new passport? Leave a message in the comment section below if so.