On Friday, France and the UK announced plans to boost staffing at border controls to prevent travel chaos during the upcoming summer holiday season. This move comes in response to warnings from MPs about potential ‘utter chaos and miles of tailbacks’ unless the EU’s entry-exit system (EES) is updated or checks are suspended.
As new fingerprinting and facial recognition checks are set to increase disruptions at Channel crossings, the UK government has allocated £20 million to enhance capacity for processing vehicles and reduce wait times. UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander emphasized the necessity of high levels of staffing at border points to facilitate smoother travel for passengers.
Increased Staffing to Address Border Delays
The announcement follows assurances from French officials to Alexander that additional border police would be deployed to help manage queues. The exact number of additional staff from France remains unspecified. However, French border police have offered to station more officers on UK soil to ensure adequate staffing at critical locations, including Dover, Folkestone, and London St Pancras.
Alexander noted that biometric kiosks designed for fingerprint and facial scans are currently malfunctioning, leading to delays in processing. As a temporary measure, car passengers are being manually registered without biometric data while waiting for new kiosks and tablets to be deployed.
Potential Travel Chaos During Peak Season
The port of Dover has warned that EES checks during the May half-term holiday resulted in delays of up to four-and-a-half hours. With expectations of nearly 50% more vehicles this summer, approximately 12,000 cars are anticipated daily at Dover next weekend, significantly higher than usual traffic.
During a recent visit to the port, Karen Bradley, chair of the home affairs select committee, remarked, “We saw for ourselves that there is going to be utter chaos next week unless the French authorities step up.” The EU has identified 20 “difficult spots” due to the new checks, but has declined requests to suspend the EES.
Government Efforts to Minimize Disruption
In addition to the £20 million funding, Alexander has communicated directly with the EU Commissioner for Transport to address holidaymakers’ concerns about delays during peak travel times. “I will do everything in my power to help holidaymakers on their way,” she stated.
This new entry-exit system aims to strengthen border controls, a response to vulnerabilities exposed by the terrorist attacks in Brussels and Paris in 2015 and 2016. After several delays, the EES began phased implementation in October and now requires UK passengers entering and exiting Schengen countries to scan their passports and provide biometric data.
🤖 This article was rewritten by Feed and Figures' editorial AI from a report originally published by Guardian Politics. Facts and quotes are preserved from the original; the rewrite focuses on clarity and structure. For the unedited original, see the source link below.
