Kentish Express Ashford & District
Plan to avert hell at ports from EU checks ‘under way’
Plans to avert major disruption at the Channel ports this autumn caused by new EU biometric checks are “well underway” despite continued warnings of long delays.
Port of Dover officials and top brass from Kent County Council (KCC) met to discuss how to minimise queues and keep traffic moving.
The EU is due to implement fingerprint and facial scanning on October 6 which will be carried out at Dover and the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone.
All non-EU travellers in cars will have to be processed at border controls in the UK to capture their biometric data, potentially causing massive delays.
The French, who operate the juxtaposed checkpoint controls on British soil, say the new measures will cut out the need for manual passport stamping and prevent overstaying in the EU.
The Entry Exit System (EES) will come in two stages. The first is registration, where the traveller will have passports checked and give biometric data - and the second is to have those details validated across the border.
KCC leader Roger Gough and Port of Dover chief executive Doug Bannister continue to warn central government of the serious impact the new checks could have on tourists crossing the Channel.
Delays of up to 15 hours have been spoken of and the possibility of Operation Brock being in place for years.
Cllr Gough said that on a recent visit to Dover he was reassured the port is working on mitigating the impact on the travelling public.
He said: “The increase in the number of booths, enhanced staffing and the detailed modelling undertaken to determine the impact of the forecasted flows of traffic is well thought out and will be critical to allowing passengers and freight to pass through the border as quickly and effectively as possible. It will also help to mitigate the potential disruption in and around Dover.”
He warned that if Dover is ground to a standstill, the supply chain of goods in the UK will also be disrupted.
Emma Ward, chief operations officer at the Port of Dover, said: “We will continue to process vehicles through the port in a very similar way to how we do it now.
“However, we are investing in new processes and operating areas and are working at great pace to have these in place by October 6, which is when we have been told the new checks are likely to begin.
“There are two stages to the EES process. The first is registration, where passengers will have to have their passports checked and give biometric fingerprints and facial recognition. The second stage is to have those details validated when you cross the border.
“There is no getting away from the fact that this could be a slow process, especially if it involves a car full of people or a coach full of passengers.
“So we are looking at how these checks can be done in a location outside of the port itself, to prevent a backlog of queues on to surrounding roads."
This paper previously revealed how space is being created in Dover to process coaches and keep them off the road while they are waiting to board ferries.
The site, planned for an old boatyard next to Granville Dock, is aimed to be ready in time for October.