EU border chaos feared at Dover crossing as busiest summer weekend looms

The port of Dover is preparing for its most challenging summer weekend yet as thousands of British holidaymakers head to France, raising fears of severe traffic congestion and prolonged border delays. With the start of the peak summer season, motoring organisations predict record numbers of drivers will hit the roads, putting immense pressure on the UK's main Channel ferry crossing. The situation is compounded by ongoing issues with the new EU Entry-Exit System (EES), which has been plagued by technical difficulties, leading to manual checks at the French side of the border. The busiest weekend of the year for domestic travel is expected to begin on Friday, with approximately 7,500 cars heading to France at dawn, rising to 10,000 by Saturday. The port has advised drivers to use main routes and arrive at least two hours before scheduled crossings to avoid being caught in the anticipated tailbacks. French border police, stationed at Dover, will manually process non-EU travelers, bypassing the automated biometric registration required by the EES. This manual process, while necessary, is expected to cause significant delays, with officials warning of long queues at the border. Eurotunnel, which operates the LeShuttle service through the Channel Tunnel, has also faced similar challenges. Despite investing heavily in automated processing kiosks, these systems remain offline due to technical issues. Eurotunnel has not anticipated major disruptions, but it has acknowledged that the current setup will not fully address the increased demand during the busy summer period. Meanwhile, the RAC and Inrix have forecasted some of the worst traffic conditions on Friday, particularly around the M25 and M3 motorways connecting Greater London to the south-west. These routes are expected to experience heavy congestion as millions of drivers embark on their summer break. Schools across England and Wales are closing this weekend, contributing to a surge in leisure travel. Most of the trips are expected to occur on Saturday, marking the largest domestic getaway since 2022. Harriet Hernando, a spokesperson for the RAC, noted that many Britons are choosing to stay within the country rather than travel abroad, citing improved weather forecasts and concerns over flight cancellations and rising airfares. However, she warned that the recent heatwave has led to an increase in vehicle breakdowns, urging drivers to plan for potential delays and ensure they are equipped for the challenges ahead. The AA has reported that nearly one in five drivers intend to embark on a leisure trip of 100 miles or more during the coming week, making it the busiest stretch of the summer for road travel. With temperatures continuing to rise, there is a growing likelihood that more drivers will head towards coastal destinations. London Heathrow Airport has also announced that this weekend marks the beginning of its peak summer season, with Friday likely to be the busiest day. Travel association Abta anticipates that the majority of overseas travel will take place in the following weekend. Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, has once again raised concerns about the readiness of the EES, stating that UK passengers could serve as a testing ground for incomplete border infrastructure. The airline has advised travelers to prepare for extended waits, identifying several popular holiday destinations such as Lisbon, Tenerife South, Alicante, Malaga, and Milan Bergamo as potential trouble spots due to EES-related delays. As the summer season kicks off, the combination of high traffic volumes and unresolved border processing issues threatens to create a chaotic environment for both drivers and airlines alike.