Key Takeaways
- France and the UK have agreed to boost staffing at Channel‑crossing border points to mitigate expected travel chaos from the EU’s Entry‑Exit System (EES).
- UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander announced £20 million of government funding to increase processing capacity for vehicles and reduce wait times.
- French border police will deploy additional officers on UK soil at Dover, Folkestone and London St Pancras to staff passport booths, though the exact numbers remain undisclosed.
- Biometric kiosks for fingerprint and facial‑recognition checks are currently malfunctioning, forcing officials to manually register car passengers while awaiting new equipment.
- The Port of Dover reported delays of up to four‑and‑a‑half hours during the May half‑term and anticipates nearly 50 % more vehicles this summer, with about 12,000 cars a day expected next weekend.
- MPs warn of “utter chaos and miles of tailbacks” unless the EES is fixed or checks are suspended; the EU has rejected suspension requests but acknowledges 20 “difficult spots,” including Dover.
- The EES, introduced after the 2015‑2016 Brussels and Paris terror attacks, aims to strengthen Schengen border controls by registering passport scans, photos and fingerprints for all UK passengers entering or exiting Schengen states.
Background on the Entry‑Exit System (EES)
The EU’s Entry‑Exit System was created to address vulnerabilities exposed by the terrorist attacks in Brussels (2015) and Paris (2016). After several postponements, the system began a phased rollout last October. Since April, UK travellers entering or leaving any Schengen country must present their passport, have a photo taken, and provide fingerprints at the border. The goal is to create a reliable record of who enters and exits the Schengen area, thereby improving security and curbing illegal migration. However, the biometric checks have introduced new operational pressures at major crossing points, especially those handling high volumes of UK‑EU traffic.
Projected Summer Travel Surge
The Port of Dover forecasts a dramatic increase in vehicle traffic for the upcoming summer season. Compared with typical daily flows, Dover expects almost 50 % more vehicles, translating to roughly 12,000 cars per day next weekend—more than three times the usual volume. This surge coincides with the start of the school half‑term holiday, a period traditionally marked by heightened cross‑Channel travel. Port authorities warn that without additional resources, the combination of heightened demand and the new EES checks could produce extensive queues and severe disruption for holidaymakers and freight operators alike.
Staffing Commitments from France
In response to the looming crisis, French officials have pledged to increase staffing at key UK‑border locations. According to reports, French border police will place extra officers on UK soil at Dover, Folkestone and London St Pancras station—the departure point for Eurostar services—to ensure passport booths are adequately staffed. While the precise number of additional personnel has not been disclosed, both sides agree that heightened resourcing is essential to maintain smoother journeys during the peak travel window. The move reflects a bilateral effort to share the burden of managing the new biometric procedures.
UK Government Funding Package
To complement the French staffing boost, UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander announced a £20 million funding package aimed at expanding border‑control capacity. The Department for Transport outlined that the money will be used to increase the number of passport‑checking booths, upgrade processing infrastructure, and ultimately reduce wait times for both passengers and freight. Alexander emphasized that the investment is part of a broader strategy to minimise disruption during the busiest travel period of the year and to reassure holidaymakers that their journeys will not be unduly hampered by bureaucratic delays.
Issues with Biometric Kiosks
A significant obstacle to smooth implementation has been the malfunction of the biometric kiosks designed to capture fingerprints and facial scans. Alexander told her French counterpart, Philippe Tabarot, that the kiosks are not working reliably, forcing authorities to fall back on manual registration for car passengers while they await the delivery of new kiosks and tablet devices. This workaround slows down processing and contributes to the growing queues, highlighting a gap between the policy’s ambitions and the current technical readiness at the border.
Parliamentary Warnings and EU Response
Members of the UK Home Affairs Select Committee visited Dover and warned of “utter chaos and miles of tailbacks” unless French authorities step up their support. Committee chair Karen Bradley stated after the visit that the situation was dire and required immediate action. The EU, while acknowledging that 20 “difficult spots” exist across the bloc—Dover among them—has rejected calls to suspend the EES entirely. Officials argue that the system is crucial for security and that temporary suspensions would undermine its purpose, instead urging member states to allocate additional resources to cope with the increased workload.
Operational Workarounds and Future Outlook
In the interim, French border police are permitted to conduct checks on coach passengers and lorries on UK soil, a flexibility intended to ease pressure on car lanes. However, because the biometric equipment remains unavailable for private vehicles, officials continue to process car travellers manually, which is slower and more labour‑intensive. Both governments stress that the current measures are temporary; once the new kiosks and tablets are deployed and staffing levels are adequate, the expectation is that processing times will return to acceptable levels, preserving the security benefits of the EES without sacrificing travel convenience.
Conclusion
The summer of 2025 promises to be a test of the EU’s Entry‑Exit System’s resilience. While the system’s security rationale is widely accepted, its real‑world deployment has exposed logistical frailties at high‑traffic crossings such as Dover. The Franco‑UK agreement to increase staffing, coupled with the UK’s £20 million investment, seeks to bridge the gap until the necessary biometric hardware is fully functional. Continued cooperation, transparent communication about staffing numbers, and swift resolution of technical issues will be critical to avoid the predicted travel chaos and to ensure that holidaymakers and freight operators can move smoothly between the UK and the Schengen area this season.