The UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander spoke on 13 July with EU Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas to coordinate implementation of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) ahead of the peak summer getaway. The new biometric regime—fully active since April 2026—requires non-EU travellers to scan passports, fingerprints and facial images when crossing into the Schengen Area, including at juxtaposed French controls in Dover, Eurotunnel and London St Pancras. Following industry warnings of holiday-weekend gridlock, London pledged a further £20 million to expand French-staffed booths and vehicle-buffer lanes in Kent, on top of £10.5 million already spent on Dover, Eurotunnel and Eurostar infrastructure. The EU side reportedly agreed to deploy additional French Border Police officers and mobile enrolment kiosks during high-traffic waves. Both parties will also run a joint public-information campaign urging travellers to pre-register via the EU’s smartphone app once it launches later this month. For companies managing cross-Channel business trips or assignee moves, the announcement offers short-term relief but underscores the structural impact of the EES: first-time biometric enrolment can add two to four minutes per person, a major constraint for coach tours and shuttle trains. Logistics firms fear that if average car processing time rises from 45 to 70 seconds, Dover’s peak capacity could fall by 15 %, increasing the risk of tailbacks on the M20. Eurostar says it has fitted ten additional e-gates at St Pancras and negotiated with SNCF Réseau to hold onward TGV connections for up to 15 minutes when EES queues build up. Nevertheless, corporate travel managers are being advised to schedule morning departures, avoid Friday evenings and alert employees to possible fingerprint re-takes if scans fail. Looking ahead, the EU’s companion ETIAS travel-authorisation scheme is due to start testing in October 2026, meaning that by next summer, non-EU visitors to France will face both a paid pre-trip authorisation and in-person biometrics. Firms should update intranet guidance and integrate passport-validity and EES-enrolment checks into booking workflows.
Source: UK Department for Transport
