Biometric Border Prep Will Disrupt Olympics Travel, Warns Port of Dover Head

The European Union’s planned Exit-Entry System is going to cause serious bottlenecks for tourists headed to the summer Olympics—even though it won’t officially go live until later this year. Doug Bannister, the boss of Britain’s Port of Dover, has warned that travel for the Olympics, which begin in France on July 26, will lead to a 30 percent increase in passenger numbers due to work on implementing the required border control tech.

From July 18, processing times inside the port are expected to reach up to two hours during peak hours, particularly between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Fridays through Sundays. Bannister has advised travelers not to arrive more than two hours before their booked ferry crossing and to avoid coming to the port without a booking.

The port experienced significant delays during the Easter getaway in April of 2023, with some coach passengers waiting over 14 hours, due to long border processing times and poor weather conditions.

To manage the expected high demand this summer, several measures have been put in place by the port, ferry operators, the Kent Medway Resilience Forum, and British and French Border authorities. These include spreading travel demand during peak times, increasing the number of border control posts for tourist vehicles from seven to eleven, and introducing a new freight permit system on Kent roads.

The port has also provided advice for passengers, emphasizing the importance of allowing ample time for journeys, using recommended main routes, and having sufficient food and entertainment for a comfortable trip. Passengers are advised to have their passports ready before reaching border controls to expedite the process.

Meanwhile, preparations continue at major Channel crossing points to prevent chaos when the EES goes live, which will require non-EU nationals to register biometric information upon their first border crossing. That’s currently expected to happen in October, though there have already been several major delays to the program.

Other border officials across both sides of the Channel had expressed concerns about EES delays in May. French Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete had warned of “operational problems” connected to Olympics-related travel, and the UK’s Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, had expressed concern about “some big choke points at Dover and St Pancras,” a major rail station.

Source: BBC News

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July 15, 2024 – by Cass Kennedy and Alex Perala