Over 10,000 passengers have entered the UK without passing through passport control due to airport security errors over the past seven years. 

These mistakes occurred when international travelers were mistakenly directed away from immigration checks, often due to human errors like incorrect gates being left open. Airlines and airports, responsible for guiding passengers correctly, face fines for such breaches.

Home Office data reveals that 1,432 passengers bypassed immigration in 2023, nearly triple the 574 cases in 2022. However, this is lower than pre-pandemic levels, with 1,779 incidents in 2019 and 3,423 in 2018, according to figures obtained by *The Telegraph.*

The numbers recorded as being misdirected in this way fell sharply during the pandemic when the number of flights was severely reduced.

It is thought that some of these misdirected passengers will be found and brought back through passport control but it is admitted that some are able to leave the airport without being checked.

Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migrationwatch UK, said: “A trebling in a year of passengers slipping through the controls unseen is very concerning.

“The public have a right to be reassured by the Home Office that anyone who entered the country unseen doesn’t pose a threat and any gaps at the border have been plugged.”

A spokesperson for AirportsUK, the trade body for UK airports, said: “This represents an incredibly small proportion of the tens of millions of people who arrive in the UK and is more likely a result of travellers taking a wrong turn.

“In the vast majority of cases, the error is corrected and passengers are processed through normal passport and immigration controls. Security is the number one concern for airports, and they, along with airline partners, always keep processes under review to ensure this is maintained across all areas.

“It is misleading to compare 2023 figures with 2022 as the aviation industry was still recovering from the effects of global shutdown caused by Covid-19.

“It would be more accurate to compare with the last set of data not affected by the pandemic, from 2019, which show that last year’s figures reflect a continuing trend of reductions in the number of misdirected passengers.”