EU border chaos feared at Dover crossing as busiest summer weekend looms
Dover port is bracing for severe congestion this weekend as Britain's busiest summer getaway coincides with ongoing technical problems in the EU's new entry-exit border system (EES). A £40m automated facility built to speed up biometric checks in Dover remains unusable due to software faults in France, forcing French border police to manually register non-EU travellers, which could still slow queues significantly despite skipping the required fingerprinting and photographing.
Around 7,500 cars are expected at Dover on Friday and 10,000 on Saturday as peak season begins, with the port urging drivers to stick to main roads and arrive no more than two hours before sailings. Eurotunnel faces similar EES delays but says it does not expect congestion, while more than 14 million drivers overall are forecast to travel this weekend, with the RAC and AA warning of heavy traffic on routes such as the M25 and M3 amid a surge in UK staycations driven by the border issues, heatwaves and post-Iran-war flight concerns.
In short
- Dover braces for EU border delays as new EES system remains only partly functional
- £40m automated Dover facility unusable due to French software problems
- Over 14 million drivers expected on UK roads this bank holiday weekend
Explained simply
The EU recently introduced a new automated border system called EES (Entry-Exit System) designed to speed up checks on non-EU travellers by recording their fingerprints and photographs. Dover, Britain's busiest ferry port, has a £40 million facility built to handle these checks quickly for passengers heading to France.
However, software problems with the system in France mean the automated checks cannot currently be used. Instead, French border officials must manually record each non-EU traveller's details, which takes considerably longer and can create substantial queues.
This timing is particularly problematic because this weekend marks the beginning of peak summer holiday season. With tens of thousands of British drivers expected to head to France and continental Europe for their holidays, the combination of system delays and high passenger volumes is expected to cause significant congestion at the port and surrounding roads.
Art Business Celebrity Culture Entertainment Europe Travel TV UK World