The Port of Dover has declared it has done “absolutely everything” to prepare for the upcoming summer getaway, despite significant concerns over potential delays stemming from new EU border checks.
Doug Bannister, chief executive of the Kent port, expressed his frustration, calling it “very disappointing” that a new £40 million processing facility, built specifically for the EU’s Entry Exit System (EES), remains unused for car passengers because the necessary EU technology has not been activated.
The EES, fully implemented in April, requires non-EU nationals, including British travellers, to have their fingerprints and photographs taken upon entering the Schengen Area.
While this process typically occurs at foreign airports for most UK citizens, it is also conducted at the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel’s Folkestone terminal, and London St Pancras railway station, all of which operate juxtaposed border controls.
The port experienced a “critical incident” during the May half-term, with waiting times reaching four-and-a-half hours for approximately 8,500 outbound tourist vehicles.
Mr Bannister recently warned MPs that the port faces “repeated episodes of severe congestion” this summer unless the EU grants greater flexibility for the EES, a concession that has yet to materialise.
Most schools in England and Wales break up for the summer holidays at the end of this week or early next week, while the academic year has already ended in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Port of Dover expects to have about 7,500 outbound cars on Friday, rising to nearly 10,000 on Saturday.
The end of next week will be even busier, with about 10,500 outbound cars on both July 24 and 25.
It was previously hoped that many of these would complete their EES registrations at the new Western Docks facility, which is equipped with 84 kiosks to record biometric details.
But the French authorities have not switched the kiosks on, and no date has been set for when that will happen.
Mr Bannister said: “We delivered our Western Docks facility after investing £40 million of our capital.
“We were under constant pressure to have it be operational, pursuant to the timeline that was EES, and it’s been specifically designed to handle our peak volumes safely and efficiently, and we can’t use it.
“It is very disappointing.”
Holidaymakers are being urged to use only main roads when driving to the port, and arrive no more than two hours before their booked sailing.
Since May, the port has installed new border positions in its ferry terminal, and the French authorities have agreed to its suggested resource requirements.
Mr Bannister said: “We’ve done absolutely everything that we can… in preparing for the summer.
“But there are still a lot of unknowns and uncertainties around how the EES process will affect travel.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander recently met French counterpart Phillippe Tabarot to call for a pragmatic approach to EES checks.
Mr Bannister said she has “leaned in personally on trying to get the messages clear”.
Some £20 million of new Government funding was announced by the Department for Transport on Monday to boost infrastructure in Kent to reduce delays.
This is on top of a previous £10.5 million investment shared by the three English sites with juxtaposed border controls.
Alastair Gunn, trade policy lead at the Road Haulage Association (RHA) said it anticipates checks will “inevitably” have to be temporarily suspended to keep traffic flowing during busy periods.
“It’s clear the infrastructure and resource needed for EES to work at all ports is not fully in place,” Mr Gunn said.
“We are concerned about tailbacks and disruption for holidaymakers on roads to Dover during this summer’s school holidays. This affects our coach members taking British tourists to Europe and risks serious delays to the just-in-time supply chains our hauliers operate.
“We echo the calls for flexibility. That’s why we’ve long called for pre-registration and online documentation, so travellers can register in advance and speed up crossings.”
