French and UK authorities face another major test of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) this weekend after French border police confirmed they will have to process all third-country travellers at Dover by hand. The £40 million automated kiosks installed to capture fingerprints and photographs cannot be activated because of software problems on the French side, meaning each non-EU traveller must be individually registered by officers of the Police aux Frontières. Port of Dover managers expect up to 7,500 cars bound for Calais on Friday and 10,000 on Saturday—the first big holiday getaway since English schools closed—creating the risk of tailbacks on the M20 and local roads. Under EES rules, every arrival or departure by a non-EU national must be logged with four fingerprints, a facial image and biographic data. With the technology down, officers will create a file for each person and waive the biometric capture, but the extra data-entry time still adds around 30-40 seconds per passenger. Industry group Getlink, operator of Eurotunnel’s LeShuttle, says its new kiosks are also sitting idle. Airlines have warned that airports will become the next “testing ground” for unfinished infrastructure unless member states fix the glitches before the August peak. The disruption is already reshaping travel patterns: British motoring organisations report the highest level of domestic holiday bookings since 2022, citing concerns over queues, high air fares and heat-related flight cancellations. Ferry operators DFDS and P&O are advising customers not to arrive more than two hours before sailing to avoid clogging port approach roads. For business travellers, the biggest headache is unpredictability. Companies with cross-Channel supply chains should build generous buffers into delivery schedules, while corporate mobility teams may want to shift senior staff to the Eurostar, where French controls take place in London St Pancras but biometric registration is also suspended. If they must drive, travellers should carry printed confirmations of meetings to show border officials and allow at least three extra hours for clearance. Looking ahead, French and UK officials say the kiosks will be retested after the summer peak, but no date has been set for full biometric processing. Until then, manual work-arounds will remain the norm, reinforcing calls from airports and airlines for a temporary suspension of EES obligations during high-season weekends.
Source: The Guardian
