The Port of Dover has urged ferry passengers to prepare for delays as the bank holiday getaway begins and roads to popular tourist spots become congested. Schools will finish for the half-term break this afternoon ahead of the first holiday period since the EU's new Entry Exit System (EES) came into force on April 10.
New Border Checks Under EES
The scheme involves people from third-party countries such as the UK having their fingerprints registered and photograph taken to enter the free movement Schengen Area, which consists of 29 European countries mainly in the EU including France. Border checks are expected to be lengthier because some countries are creating a digital profile for travellers despite not yet taking their photos and fingerprints.
In Dover, where people pass through the French border before getting on ferries across the English Channel, machines are in place to register biometric checks. While the French have not yet switched on the machines, border officials will still do part of the process for each tourist and set up a profile linked to the new system.
Current Delays and Traffic
Officials in Dover said in an update at 8am this morning that there was a 90-minute processing time for tourist traffic in the lanes known as the 'Buffer Zone'. Some 18,000 cars are expected to travel through the port between today and Sunday - with 8,000 tomorrow on what will be the busiest day. Four hundred coaches are anticipated today, and the busiest periods each day will be between 6am and 1pm.
Anyone who misses their booked sailing due to delays has been reassured that the ferry operator will try to move them onto the next available departure at check-in. The Port urged motorists to travel to the ferry terminal at the eastern docks via main routes only on the M2/A2 and M20/A20 to avoid causing local traffic delays.
Road Congestion and Rail Disruption
It comes as roads to popular tourist destinations are expected to become congested – with the AA having estimated 23.4 million car journeys will take place today. Likely traffic blackspots will include routes heading towards east coast destinations such as Skegness, the M4 from London towards Wales, and the M6 towards the north-west coast. The RAC expects leisure traffic to peak today and tomorrow.
Meanwhile strike action and engineering work will cause disruption on a number of routes on Britain's railways. Walkouts by members of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association today and tomorrow in a dispute over pay will affect West Midlands Railway (WMR) and London Northwestern Railway services. Timetables will be slashed on both days, including no WMR trains after 7pm tonight or before 7am tomorrow.
Network Rail engineering work means parts of key intercity lines will be shut. The East Coast Main Line will be closed between York and Darlington from tomorrow through to Monday. Buses will replace trains between Newport and Bristol Parkway from tomorrow for two weeks. There will be no Thameslink services through central London between tomorrow and Monday, affecting services to Gatwick and Luton airports.
Holiday Travel and Heatwave
Travel trade organisation Abta said there will be a surge in families heading off on holiday this weekend as it marks the start of half-term breaks for many schools. It reported strong demand for short-haul sunshine holidays in destinations such as mainland Spain, Italy, the Balearic and Canary Islands, and Portugal, as well as city breaks in Milan, Nice and Barcelona.
But representative body Airports Council International reported last month that EES was causing delays of up to three hours, with airports in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy among the worst affected. More than 100 easyJet passengers missed a flight from Milan Linate to Manchester last month because of delays at passport desks caused by the ramp up of EES.
Meanwhile, parking app company RingGo said its analysis of recent bank holiday periods found tomorrow is likely to be the busiest day of the long weekend at coastal towns and cities such as Bournemouth, Hastings and Torquay. It said seaside towns are 'consistently outperforming inland locations' during bank holidays in terms of the number of parking sessions recorded.
The Met Office has forecast a heatwave this weekend, with temperatures set to peak on Monday when 34C could be recorded in southern England and the Midlands. People are being urged to check water quality in bathing spots and sea conditions along coasts before swimming as the UK braces for the scorching weekend. The Met Office is encouraging the public to be 'weather ready' by making informed choices on swimming and locations as they head outdoors or to the coast to enjoy the sunshine.
Campaign group River Action warned of the health risks posed by poor water quality, even in designated bathing spots. Alzheimer's Society said people with dementia are likely to be more vulnerable in warmer conditions and outlined measures others can take to support them. Similarly, the British Heart Foundation said heart patients also face potential dangers in the heat and should take extra precautions to minimise health risks. Hotter conditions often lead to a surge in ambulance call-outs and Royal National Life Boat Institution (RNLI) rescues along UK coastlines as people experience heat stress or get into trouble in the water.
