British holidaymakers heading to Europe this summer could face “terrible” queues of five hours after fresh delays implementing new border technology.
A £40m facility to help ease congestion at Dover is unlikely to be open in time for the summer holidays, the port’s chief executive has said.
It means a summer of “mess” and “chaos” lies ahead on the roads leading up to the busy south coast port as millions of UK tourists head to France, drivers have been warned.
EES kiosks ‘probably’ not ready for summer
A new site built by the UK authorities to accommodate 600 cars as they go through the EU’s new digital border checks – the Entry/Exit System (EES) – is “ready to go”.
But the Western Docks facility cannot open until the French authorities switch on 84 new EES kiosks for fingerprint and photo security checks, which are carried out on the UK side of the border.
The Port of Dover had originally expected the EES kiosks to be operational in October 2025. After a delay, it was hoped the technology could be ready for April, when full EES checks came into force.
However, Port of Dover chief executive Doug Bannister told the BBC that the digital kiosks would “most probably” not be available for the start of the summer – with the English school holidays set to begin in July.
“Our infrastructure at Dover is ready to go,” Bannister said.
“However, the activation of the kiosks by the French authorities is outside our direct control and as we approach the summer there is no date yet for that to happen.”
Long and ‘dangerous’ queues in summer heat
Problems with the technology – which is the responsibility of France’s Police Aux Frontières – raises the prospect of car queues lasting five hours or more this summer.
EES biometric scans are being carried out for coaches at Dover. But they are still not being carried out for car passengers – with police manually opening a file for all travellers instead.
A £40m facility to help ease congestion at Dover is unlikely to be open in time for the summer holidays (Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA)These manual EES checks were suspended by French authorities at Dover during the May bank holiday weekend after travellers were trapped in traffic jams of more than five hours.
“I fear huge queues – even longer than what we saw in May, given that it’s busier in summer holidays,” Antony Hook, Liberal Democrat opposition leader at Kent County Council, told The i Paper.
“It’s a disaster for the tourist traffic, and snarls up the roads for local residents,” Hook added.
The failure to get the technology ready for the summer was “miserable and terrible for holidaymakers,” said Mike Sole, a fellow Lib Dem councillor in Kent.
“It could be dangerous to be in huge queues for several hours in the heat. Local residents also have to deal with the chaos of traffic being backed up on the roads. The whole thing is a mess.”
People in Dover told The i Paper last month that ongoing traffic congestion at the port was already “absolutely hideous”. One family was stuck in a queue for five and a half hours during the May bank holiday.
Government ‘ignores’ call to shift checks to Sevington
Kent County Council, run by Reform UK, recently backed a motion by its Lib Dem councillors for at least some cars to be diverted to the Sevington facility, 20 miles from Dover, where they could be processed by border staff.
Sevington already operates as a biosecurity checking site for lorries. It could take some of the pressure off the Port of Dover, said Sole.
But the Labour Government had “ignored” the council’s motion, he told The i Paper.
“I think the UK Government has to take some of the blame [for congestion at Dover],” said the Lib Dem councillor. “It could have tried to make some of the traffic issues easier.”
Hook added: “We had long queues even before EES. You can’t blame the French authorities for not fixing our traffic congestion problems.
“It comes back to the extra checks that Brexit has brought. Sadly, I can’t see us getting back to pre-Brexit smoothness.”
Airline passengers have faced queues lasting six hours at airports as a result of the EES checks, which came fully into force on 10 April.
All those travelling to the EU and associated Schengen area requires third-party nationals – including British citizens after Brexit – to provide photo and fingerprint data.
However, the introduction of the checks has been beset by IT problems and staff shortages, causing many passengers to miss connecting flights.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “While EES is an EU scheme, we recognise this is a significant change for British travellers.
“Our priority is to minimise disruption for travellers, hauliers and businesses, particularly at our busiest border crossings and we’ll continue working closely with French authorities keep traffic flowing and journeys smooth,” they added.
The Police Aux Frontières in France was contacted for comment.
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