Dover summer queue warning under new EU border system

Holidaymakers and lorries could face long queues at the Port of Dover when the EU's new border control IT system comes in, the port's boss has warned

The Entry/Exit System, or EES, is due to be introduced at the end of May.

People entering the bloc from non-EU countries will need to register fingerprints and a photo with their passport details.

Doug Bannister told the BBC its introduction could mean "a tough start to the summer".

That initial registration will be valid for three years, during which time it must be validated every time someone crosses the border. This will replace passport-stamping.

Mr Bannister said "Dover's the place in the UK where this really bites", because the system of juxtaposed border controls means entry to France is controlled at the port. He said the current plan was for registration to be completed at the port, under the supervision of French border police.

He said it could take 10 minutes to register one car carrying four people: two minutes per passenger and then two minutes for the vehicle.

However, the port does not yet know what technology will be used and therefore exactly how long the process will take.

Mr Bannister told the BBC: "We've heard one of the solutions is an iPad-type thing, [with handles] for fingerprints, and the camera takes facial recognition alongside passport details. But we haven't seen it. So we don't know for certain.

"You can imagine trying to hand that around a car. And in particular if you've got children in the back, how do you get them to do it properly? Maybe somebody's asleep in the back you need to wake them up."

He warned the system seemed designed for an airport environment, rather than people travelling in vehicles, and the port had safety concerns around people being made to get out of their vehicles in the busy terminal.

If getting through the border started to take longer than at the moment, he said "we will have more congestion events than we have had this year".

Mr Bannister called on the government to press the EU and France on a solution that involved registration being completed away from the port.

He described a risk to the business and the economy if the port slowed down, warning of a "rapid and detrimental impact on trade" and travel.

The Port of Dover boss's comments follow the publication of a letter to the Transport Select Committee from Eurostar's chief executive, Jacques Damas, in which he described "the uncertainty regarding [EES]" as something that "hangs over" the operator.

Mr Damas said the increased time it is taking to process UK passengers travelling from London to continental Europe post-Brexit, means stations have 30% less capacity than 2019.

Last month, the BBC revealed trains may not resume calling at Ashford or Ebbsfleet in Kent until 2025. Mr Damas said re-opening intermediate stations would take away border resources from London.

On Wednesday, the Port of Dover insisted the summer holiday period had gone smoothly, apart from the weekend at the start of the school holidays when holidaymakers ended up being caught in exceptionally long queues.

It blamed this on not enough French border police being provided at the start of the day, but said the French had stepped in quickly to ensure the backlog cleared.

Mr Bannister said he had not sought an apology from the French.

Tourist numbers through Dover are still below pre-Covid levels, although the port says they have recovered well.

But Mr Bannister told the BBC he had "a reasonable level of confidence" that the port could "handle a full return of tourists", adding: "It is dependent on us being able to have the infrastructure manned when it needs to be".