A SUMMER of queues at border control is on the horizon for Brits heading abroad next month.
Following chaos caused by the new EES system across Europe, the Port of Dover has created new checkpoints costing £40million.
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Queues are expected to build up during the summer holidays at the Port of Dover Credit: Alamy
But it’s now been said that this will ‘probably’ not be open in time for summer, this is according to the port’s chief executive, Doug Bannister.
The BBC reported that the facility, which has 84 kiosks, is ready but cannot open until French officials turn them on.
At the moment, there’s no set date for this.
Port of Dover chief executive Doug Bannister told the BBC that the site is working with both UK and French governments to “make certain that the summer runs smoothly”.
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Once up and running, the border centre at Eastern Docks will have space for 600 vehicles at once.
But Doug Bannister said there was “no certain outlook” for when this facility will be open.
The Port of Dover is waiting for the new facility to open Credit: Alamy
He added that the latest is that it “most probably” won’t be open for the summer season.
During the summer holidays, the Port of Dover handles over two million passengers over six weeks.
And the extra EES checks now being a requirement for Brits means there have been reports of longer wait times at check points across Europe.
Most recently for the Port of Dover, huge delays were reported over the bank holiday weekend in May where there were hour-long queues.
Biometric data which is collected via EES is not currently being gathered from car passengers at Dover.
Instead, a digital profile is created for each non-EU traveller.
Earlier this year over the late May Bank Holiday, the Port of Dover told passengers not to arrive earlier than two hours before departure as well as to have food and water in the car in case of delays.
It added that anyone who misses their ferry because of disruption will be moved on to the next available sailing.
