Dover chief warns of “traffic jams across Kent” as new EU border controls are introduced next year

The head of Dover Port has warned of congestion across Kent as tougher EU border controls are introduced next year.

Massive queues have caused misery for holidaymakers traveling to France via Dover this year, but 2023 could be much worse, Dover Port boss Doug Bannister has warned.

It currently takes about a minute and a half for a car to get through the controls in Dover. This could take up to ten minutes under a stricter system, which is expected to come into force in May 2023.

The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) accommodates non-EU citizens when they enter or leave the Schengen area.

It replaces manual passport stamps with automatic scans and displays a person’s name, fingerprints and identity photo along with the date and place of entry or exit.

Mr Bannister warned that launching the scheme in May could be risky as the summer travel season has only just begun.

Responding to a suggestion that there could be 19 miles of congestion across Kent, Mr Bannister told the Transport Select Committee next summer there could be even longer queues than previous months.

Mr Bannister said he hoped the system would be rolled out with a “transition period” but admitted he feared the system would be rolled out cold turkey.

It would represent a “significant and prolonged disruption for a very long time,” he said.

Doug Bannister said there could be “significant and prolonged disruption for a very long time” next summer due to the EU’s new border controls.

Dover was plunged into travel chaos last summer as holidaymakers faced huge traffic jams

The UK-France border receives around 60 million passengers a year, with the port of Dover one of three locations in the UK requiring post-Brexit controls.

Bannister, head of Dover Port, urged the British government to pay attention to the new plan.

He said: “While a lot of good work is being done, we don’t have a solution that will work in a very busy ferry terminal.

“For next year’s summer break, that means we’re in a whole new ball game.

He said the system had not been tested and as such he and his team simply did not know how long it might take for even a single car to clear border control at Dover.

He said: “It can take two minutes per person to register, plus two minutes for the car.

“It’s 10 minutes for a car with four people.

“We’ve heard that there could be technologies like an iPad with grips to enroll fingerprints.

“We haven’t tried it. How do you drive it around a car? What happens when you let a child sleep in the backseat?

“What if it’s a dark, stormy night and the lighting isn’t right?

“We haven’t tested any of it, so we don’t really know.”

The EU’s stricter border control system, the Entry/Exit System (EES), is expected to come into force in May 2023.

Anyone who does not have an EU passport must register with the system when traveling to the Schengen area.

Registration involves not only filling in names and dates of birth, but also the photography and fingerprints of travelers’ faces.

Every time a person crosses the border, they must be validated.

The only point in the UK where this will happen is at the port of Dover.

After massive queues of cars and lorries at the Port of Dover in July this year, the worst disruption centered on gridlocked roads leading to the Channel Tunnel terminal in Folkestone.

Tens of thousands of angry families have been caught up in the chaos, which began when French passport officials failed to show up for work in mid-July.

If stricter EU border controls are introduced next year, queues could be reduced in length and time this year

Cars currently take about a minute and a half to clear French border control at Dover. In May it can last up to ten minutes

Britain’s road network was severely congested with 18.8 million journeys in its biggest summer holiday in eight years.

Bannister blames post-Brexit passport rules and France’s inadequacy for the huge queues.

Last summer he said increased border control due to Brexit was to blame for the “higher transaction times” which had caused major traffic jams in the port in recent days.

He also said the port had been “abandoned” by French border control staff after some passport booths were left empty.

The consequences of Brexit have unimaginable consequences.

During the Vote Leave campaign, leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg said there would be no queues on the British side of the border after Britain leaves the EU.

Mr Bannister blames post-Brexit passport rules and French inadequacies for huge queues

Although leading Vote Leave politician Jacob Rees-Mogg promised that Brexit would not result in long queues at Dover, he has since admitted he was “wrong”.

He said after Brexit: “We will maintain a free-flowing border at Dover.”

Mr Rees-Mogg added: “The delays will not occur at Dover but at Calais.”

He has since admitted he was “wrong”, although he claimed it was “for the right reasons.”

Mr Rees-Mogg said: “The point I was making was that if they decided not to let the British people through freely, the French would cause the only delays.”

In July this year, the Port of Dover appeared to back up that claim by criticizing France for being “satisfactorily understaffed”.

Bannister said last month he was seeking “significant infrastructure investment” from the UK government that is “necessary for the road network across Kent” to deal with congestion.