Technical issues with the European Union's entry-exit system (EES) have caused massive congestion on roads leading to the port of Dover, raising fears of border chaos as the busiest summer weekend approaches. British domestic holidays are being pushed to their highest levels since the Covid-19 pandemic halted international travel, according to motoring organisations.
Dover braces for long tailbacks
The port of Dover is bracing for long tailbacks as thousands of holidaymakers join lorries at Britain's main Channel ferry crossing from 6am on Friday. French border police, situated at Dover, will manually register non-EU travellers for EES because a new £40m automated facility built to speed through passengers is unable to operate due to software problems in France. The French police aux frontières (PAF) will not be able to carry out biometric registration—photographing and fingerprinting—but the additional time needed to create a file for each visitor could still lead to long queues at the border, the port fears.
About 7,500 cars travelling to France are expected at Dover on Friday, and 10,000 on Saturday, as the peak summer season begins. The port has urged holidaymakers to use only main roads when driving to the port and to arrive no more than two hours before their booked sailing.
Eurotunnel expects no delays
Eurotunnel, operator of LeShuttle, which takes vehicles through the Channel tunnel, said it did not anticipate delays as summer traffic built up. As at Dover, border police will still not be registering biometric information from its car passengers for EES this summer. Eurotunnel has likewise spent millions of pounds on automated processing kiosks that cannot yet be brought into service.
Traffic hotspots and staycation surge
Elsewhere, the RAC and Inrix expect the worst traffic on Friday in areas of the M25 around Greater London linking to the M3 to the southwest, as more than 14 million drivers make a getaway this weekend. With most schools in England and Wales closing this weekend for the summer, most leisure journeys will take place on Saturday, the RAC said, as part of the biggest domestic getaway since 2022.
RAC spokesperson Harriet Hernando said: “The great British summer staycation is about to get off to a flying start, with many opting to stay in the UK instead of travelling abroad. This could be down to people having more confidence in the weather, as well as concerns over cancelled flights, higher air fares and EU border delays, which are no fun with a family in tow.”
She warned that the June heatwave had seen a spike in breakdowns and urged drivers to be prepared for what the RAC called a “Saturday summer scramble”, adding: “People should prepare for delays and getting stuck in a jam in potentially very hot weather.”
AA and Heathrow expectations
The AA said its surveys showed about one in five drivers would be setting off on a leisure journey of 100 miles or more in the next week, the busiest week of the summer for road trips, with more potentially drawn to the coast if hot weather persists. London Heathrow airport said this weekend would see the start of its peak summer season, with Friday likely to be the busiest day. Travel association Abta expects the main getaway for Britons going abroad to follow next weekend.
EES impact on airports
Passengers flying into the Schengen area of 29 European countries will undertake EES formalities at the airport on landing and departure. Europe’s biggest carrier, Ryanair, warned again this week that UK passengers could be “the testing ground for unfinished border infrastructure” and told customers to prepare for long possible queues. It identified a number of popular holiday airports including Lisbon, Tenerife South, Alicante, Malaga and Milan Bergamo as “recurring hotspots” for EES-related delays.
