British tourists face potential 12-hour delays at the Port of Dover as the European Union prepares to launch its new Entry/Exit System (EES). Sir Roger Gale, MP for Herne Bay and Sandwich, warned that the biometric border checks could create severe gridlock, potentially preventing emergency services from reaching travellers in distress. While the Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has dismissed these claims as “scaremongering,” port authorities and government planners are bracing for significant disruption to cross-Channel travel.
The Impact of EU Entry/Exit System (EES) Protocols
The EES forces tourists to provide fingerprints and facial photographs upon entry into the bloc. The Port of Dover, with around 12,000 vehicles expected every day, faces a technical challenge: French border kiosks and tablets are reportedly struggling to connect to the EU’s central database. Passengers must also supply additional details to create an “EES profile,” a manual step that adds time to every individual check.
Did you know?
The EES is a digital border management system.
Divergent Estimates on Border Delays
Projections regarding the severity of summer queues remain a point of contention between local representatives and transport officials. Sir Roger Gale maintains that without a delay to the system’s implementation, “somebody will die” due to the lack of facilities for elderly passengers and children in long-standing traffic. Conversely, the Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander asserts that the government has invested over £20 million to improve vehicle flow and increase passport booth capacity at the port.
Data comparisons highlight the uncertainty in planning:
- Initial Projections: Doug Bannister, chief executive of the Port of Dover, previously projected worst-case scenarios of up to 12-hour queues.
- Current Estimates: Updated modelling has revised expected delays to between six and eight hours.
- Real-world Precedent: During the May Bank Holiday, French police suspended extra checks only after queues had already reached four-and-a-half hours.
Contingency Planning and Traffic Management
To mitigate the risk of gridlock, the government is activating Operation Brock on the M20. Originally designed as a contingency for a no-deal Brexit, this system creates a dedicated lane for lorries heading to Europe, forcing other traffic to travel at reduced speeds. Additionally, the Department for Transport has designated the Lydden Hill Race Circuit, located 10 miles from the port, as an emergency overflow area.
Pro tips for travelers:
- Time your arrival: The Department for Transport urges drivers to arrive no more than two hours before their scheduled departure.
- Follow signage: Stick to the M20 and A2 routes to avoid clogging residential areas in Dover.
- Prepare for wait times: Authorities are installing additional toilets, water stations, and refreshment points along key access routes to manage passenger welfare during prolonged delays.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Entry/Exit System (EES)?
The EES is a system that forces tourists to hand over their fingerprints and photographs.
Why are there concerns about 12-hour queues?
Concerns stem from the additional time required to process biometric data at the border. If the technology experiences connectivity issues with the EU database, the manual processing time per vehicle increases, which can cause traffic to back up significantly.
What is Operation Brock?
Operation Brock is a traffic management system on the M20 originally designed for a no-deal Brexit scenario. It creates a dedicated lane for lorries heading to Europe.
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