If you’re planning to drive to France this half term, you might want to pack some extra snacks and a lot of patience. Dover is warning travellers to brace themselves for significant queues as the school holiday rush collides with the EU’s newly fully operational Entry/Exit System (EES) border checks.
It’s the first major holiday period since the biometric border process was rolled out across the Channel, and port officials aren’t sugarcoating it. Dover Harbour Board has urged drivers to arrive prepared, warning that the new checks, which include fingerprinting and facial scans for non-EU visitors, will add time to every crossing.
The EES was designed to replace the old passport-stamp system and keep better track of who enters and exits the Schengen zone. Noble enough in theory. In practice, during a week when half the country tries to get to Calais at the same time, it’s a recipe for tailbacks stretching well down the A20.
“We strongly encourage passengers to check in early, follow the advice of port staff, and ensure all travel documents are ready well before they reach the booths,” a Dover spokesperson said, adding that extra staff would be deployed throughout the week.
French border authorities on the Calais side will be processing each traveller individually for the first time under the full EES rollout, collecting biometric data for anyone holding a non-EU passport. British citizens, of course, now fall into that category post-Brexit.
The RAC has already flagged the half-term window as one of the busiest outbound travel periods of the year, with Friday and Saturday expected to see the heaviest traffic on the M20 corridor. Eurotunnel is also anticipating high demand, though both operators say they’re running at full capacity to manage the load.
Travellers who registered their biometrics during an earlier trip since EES launched may find things slightly smoother, but first-timers should budget extra time at the booths regardless.
The real question is whether this half term becomes the cautionary tale that finally convinces families to fly instead, or whether the queues ease as border staff get quicker with the new system. Either way, the croissants had better be worth it.
