Holiday warning as Brits face travel chaos at the border unless new EU rules are brought in, says Dover port boss
BRITS face huge queues and travel chaos at the UK border this year, the Dover port boss has warned, unless new EU systems are introduced.
Doug Bannister issued the alert due to new rules being introduced this October.
Currently, travellers crossing the border can have their passports checked and stamped through their window, which is a speedy process.
The new Entry/Exit System (ESS) will require drivers, both tourists and lorry drivers, to get out of their car for a biometric check.
This will cause "significant" queues and tailbacks, he has said, unless the EU clarifies how the extra checks can be performed instead.
He told the : "We have nine months to design a process to identify and implement technology and come up with a regulation that works, and invest in any infrastructure and other investments that we need to.
"It feels a very short period of time to get that all done."
He added that the UK, France and the rest of the EU need to "create a solution" to avoid chaos and prevent dangerous situations which would see drivers leaving their vehicles during dark nights.
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He continued: "If there isn't a solution, we could well wind up having significant queues for both tourists and freight."
Both the Eurostar and the Eurotunnel have previously weighed in over fears of chaos at the borders.
Eurostar's strategy director said the firm didn't "currently see a practical solution" while Getlink's John Keefe said it was an "impossible task" to process the number of passengers through the new system.
Earlier this month, Chris Parker, from DFDS, warned that Brits faced 20-mile queues at the border due to additional Covid checks.
While the UK is lifting most of the country's travel restrictions from next month - leaving just a Passenger Locator Form requirement - most countries abroad still require vaccine passports and Covid tests.
He said: "Any sort of significant return in terms of passenger numbers, that's going to escalate the problem.
"It's really, really important that we don't find ourselves around Easter, for example, doing these sort of checks because it simply won't work.
"The impact would be queues back on to the motorways of Kent, stretching back 10, 20 miles - there's no question about that - and in fairly short order."
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