Dover port faces delays under EU entry system unless fixed by next week

Cross-Channel ferry passengers and the port of Dover face hours of delays under the EU entry/exit system unless the technology is fixed or checks suspended by next week, according to the home affairs select committee. The committee chair urged the government to apply maximum pressure on French authorities to act before peak holiday traffic arrives at the port.

Dover normally experiences its busiest weekend by the time most schools have officially broken up for summer, so it expects traffic to peak from Friday 17 July.

Port preparations and current issues The port said EES checks at the start of the May half-term holiday led to four and a half hours of delays, and it expects almost 50% more vehicles to travel through Dover this summer. The warning came after the EU on Tuesday rejected calls by airports and airlines around Europe to suspend EES fingerprinting and facial recognition border controls, despite admitting to 20 difficult spots where the system was causing tailbacks.

EU officials said only 20 of 1,500 border crossing points were difficult spots. The committee of MPs visited Dover last week to see where the port had changed its layout using land reclaimed from the sea and installed 84 automatic kiosks for EES.

Statements from port and committee leaders The committee chair said the port saw that there is going to be utter chaos next week unless the French authorities step up, and the people who will suffer are British holidaymakers and firms attempting to transport goods.

The western docks currently serve as a processing centre for coach passengers undergoing the EU entry/exit system, but the £40m biometric kiosk facility meant for car travellers remains closed due to technology and software delays from French authorities.