Port of Dover Warns 18,000 Cars of Half-Term Delays as EU Border Checks Stay Partial
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 21
Port of Dover Warns 18,000 Cars of Half-Term Delays as EU Border Checks Stay Partial
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 21
18,000 cars are expected at Dover from Friday to Sunday, and the port told half-term ferry passengers to brace for queues and possible missed sailings, with Saturday set to be the busiest day.
French border officers at Dover have not yet switched on EES fingerprint and photo machines, but still must create a profile for each tourist, slowing processing before boarding.
400 coaches are due on Friday alone, and Dover may use Lydden Hill racing circuit to hold vehicles if queues worsen; authorities can also suspend EES if delays become severe.
The same partial setup is in place at Eurotunnel Folkestone and largely at Eurostar St Pancras, though Eurotunnel is not warning of delays and Greece has said Britons will avoid biometric checks this summer.
The warning lands as the RAC forecasts nearly 19 million UK leisure road trips over the bank-holiday weekend and airlines keep trying to reassure travelers over wider summer disruption fears.
Are multi-hour queues and manual passport checks the new permanent reality for British travelers heading to Europe?
With some EU nations dropping biometric checks, is the bloc's flagship digital border system already starting to collapse?