The UK’s first big holiday exodus of the summer is colliding with both extreme weather and freshly introduced EU Entry/Exit System (EES) checks. The UK Health Security Agency issued yellow heat-health alerts for most of England from 26 °C to 30 °C on 24-26 July, just as an estimated 6.3 million motorists and tens of thousands of ferry passengers head off. At the Port of Dover – already the UK’s most congested Schengen gateway – managers said they had ‘worked flat out’ to embed the new biometric EES kiosks but admitted delays remain likely at peak times. Port officials are liaising with French Police Aux Frontières to switch to a lighter-touch approach if queues build in the heat. Air passengers are not immune. Airlines are advising travellers to arrive earlier than normal because higher cabin baggage volumes (think water and sun-cream) are slowing security lines, while Airport Fire & Rescue services have warned of runway ‘soft spots’ during the hottest part of the day. Businesses with critical travel over the weekend – including project teams and service engineers – are activating contingency plans such as flexible ticketing and remote-work options. Travel management companies report a 35 % rise in calls seeking itinerary changes compared with the same weekend last year.
Source: ITV News
