As the summer holiday season kicks off, the Port of Dover is bracing for what is anticipated to be one of its busiest weekends of the year. With schools in England and Wales breaking for summer, a surge of vehicles is expected, raising concerns about potential delays due to new European Union border procedures. The implementation of the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES), which faced technical delays in its automated facilities, will now require French border officials to manually register non-EU travelers, possibly leading to extended waiting times.
While the current registration process does not involve collecting biometric data such as fingerprints and photographs, the manual nature of this system is expected to slow down processing times, potentially causing congestion at the port. To mitigate this, the Port of Dover has advised passengers to follow designated routes and to arrive no more than two hours before their scheduled ferry departures to avoid unnecessary delays.
In addition to the expected bottlenecks at Dover, motoring organizations have issued warnings about heavy traffic on major UK roads, particularly those around London and leading to the southwest. This comes as millions embark on summer trips, with many opting for domestic destinations due to favorable weather, concerns about flight disruptions, and increasing travel costs.
Travelers are also being cautioned by airport operators and airlines to be prepared for potential delays as the peak holiday travel period unfolds. As people set out for leisure trips, both international and domestic, the combination of increased traffic and evolving border protocols could create challenges for those heading to the continent and beyond.