Port of Dover has done ‘absolutely everything’ to avoid summer EU entry-exit system chaos

The Port of Dover has said it is doing “absolutely everything” to prepare for the upcoming summer holidays, despite significant concerns about potential delays from new EU border controls.

The city port’s chief executive, Doug Bannister, expressed disappointment, describing it as “very disappointing” that a new £40 million processing plant built specifically for the EU’s Entry Exit System (EES) remained unused for vehicle passengers because the required EU technology was not enabled.

The EES, which was fully implemented in April, requires non-EU citizens, including British travellers, to be fingerprinted and photographed when entering the Schengen Area.

Although this process usually takes place at foreign airports for most UK citizens, it is also carried out at the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel’s Folkestone terminal and London St Pancras railway station, all of which carry out border checks side by side.

There was a “critical incident” at the port in the May half term, with waiting times for around 8,500 tourist vehicles reaching four and a half hours.

Mr Bannister recently warned MPs that the port would face “repeated periods of severe congestion” this summer unless the EU grants greater flexibility for the EES, a concession that has yet to materialise.

While most schools in England and Wales are closed for the summer holidays this weekend or early next week, the academic year is already over in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

About 7,500 cars are expected to leave the Port of Dover on Friday; On Saturday, this number will increase to approximately 10,000.

The end of next week will be even busier; Approximately 10,500 cars will hit the road on both July 24 and 25.

It was previously hoped that many of these would complete their EES registration at the new Western Docks facility, which is equipped with 84 kiosks to record biometric details.

However, French authorities did not open the kiosks and no date was set for when this would happen.

Mr Bannister said: “We have delivered our Western Docks site after investing £40 million of our capital.

“We were under constant pressure to get the EES up and running on schedule and it was specifically designed to handle our peak volumes safely and efficiently and we just can’t use it.

“Very disappointing.”

Holidaymakers are asked to use only main roads when coming to the port and to arrive at most two hours before their booked trip.

Since May, the port has installed new border posts at the ferry terminal, and French authorities accepted the proposed resource requirements.

Mr Bannister said: “We have done absolutely everything we can in preparation for the summer.

“But there are still many unknowns and uncertainties about how the EES process will impact travel.”

Transport Minister Heidi Alexander recently met with her French counterpart Phillippe Tabarot and called for a pragmatic approach to EES controls.

Mr Bannister said he was “personally committed to clarifying the messages”.

Nearly £20 million of new Government funding was announced by the Department for Transport on Monday to strengthen infrastructure in Kent to reduce delays.

This builds on an earlier investment of £10.5 million shared by three English regions with border controls next to each other.

Alastair Gunn, trade policy lead at the Road Haulage Association (RHA), said he predicted checks would “inevitably” need to be temporarily suspended to keep traffic flowing during peak periods.

“It is clear that the infrastructure and resources required for EES to operate in all ports are not fully in place,” Mr Gunn said.

“We are concerned about holidaymakers facing queues and disruption on the roads to Dover during the school holidays this summer. This impacts our bus members taking British tourists to Europe and risks serious delays to the just-in-time supply chains operated by our hauliers.”

“We reiterate calls for flexibility. That’s why we have long called for pre-registration and online documentation, so passengers can register in advance and speed up transit.”