The port of Dover is bracing for long tailbacks as the busiest summer weekend of the year approaches, with new EU border controls expected to cause significant delays. Around 7,500 cars are due to travel to France on Friday, rising to 10,000 on Saturday, as the peak holiday season gets under way.
The semi-functioning entry-exit system (EES) is being manually operated by French border police at Dover, as the automated facility cannot be used due to software problems in France. Biometric registration for non-EU travellers is not being carried out, but the additional time needed to create files for each visitor could still lead to queues at the border, the port fears.
Eurotunnel, operator of LeShuttle, said it did not anticipate delays, but like Dover, it will not be registering biometric information from car passengers for EES this summer. Elsewhere, the RAC and Inrix expect the worst traffic on Friday on stretches of the M25 linking to the M3, as more than 14 million drivers make a getaway this weekend.
The RAC's Harriet Hernando said: "The great British summer staycation is about to get off to a flying start, with many opting to stay in the UK instead of travelling abroad." She warned of a "Saturday summer scramble" and advised drivers to prepare for delays in potentially very hot weather. The AA said its surveys showed about one in five drivers would be setting off on a leisure journey of 100 miles or more in the next week.
London Heathrow airport said Friday was likely to be its busiest day as the peak summer season begins. Europe's largest carrier, Ryanair, warned UK passengers could be "the testing ground for unfinished border infrastructure", identifying popular holiday airports including Lisbon, Tenerife South, Alicante, Malaga and Milan Bergamo as recurring hotspots for EES-related delays.
