BRITAIN’S coaches industry boss has warned new border passport checks for Brits travelling to Europe could trigger huge delays and ‘damage’ travel across the Channel by ferry.
From today holidaymakers and workers heading to nearly 30 countries will now be required to go through biometric scans to take photographs and fingerprints.
New passport checks for those travelling to Europe will trigger huge delays, the boss of Britain’s coach industry warns[/caption]
Those travelling through the Port of Dover, the Eurotunnel at Folkestone and via Eurostar at St Pancras International in London will have to go through the Entry Exit System (EES) checks in the UK.
Holidaymakers do not have to complete the checks, which are replacing physical stamping of passports, if they leave Britain by air and will instead complete them at their destination airport.
Stephen Spendley, Director of Operations of the UK Coach Operators Association, reckons if EES “leads to unpredictable delays”, it risks “damaging confidence and discouraging cross-Channel group travel” and presents the “biggest operational change in decades”.
He said coaches typically carry up to 60 passengers who “must complete the new biometric process” and warned this “creates an entirely different level of complexity which the system must be able to handle efficiently”.
Checks for car passengers at Dover are now set to take six minutes compared to between 30 and 60 seconds under the old system.
The Port of Dover has spent £40 million on new facilities which has involved reclaiming wetlands and for coach passengers.
Stephen said while the port has made significant progress preparing for EES, “the real test will come when they’re operating at full capacity during peak travel periods”.
Only a handful of nations are using the new digital border today, including Germany which is road testing just one in Dusseldorf.
Another objective of the new system is to make it easier to enforce the 90-day stay rule, where non-EU residents can only remain there for 90 days out of every 180.
Those exempt from the checks are British travellers to Ireland and Cyprus, diplomats, ministers on official business and people who have EU residency under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Non-EU citizens may also face questions from a border guard on arrival in European countries under the new system.
