EXPERTS have warned of a “dramatic increase” in passport queues next year due to new rules in place at the border.
Biometric entry and exit checks will be enforced for Brits heading to countries in the EU, in place from May 2023.
The Entry-Exit System will include fingerprint scans and captured facial images.
The new rules, being introduced since the UK left the EU, will “increase processing times” for UK tourists, it has been warned, especially if travelling by car.
This is because every passenger in a vehicle arriving at the port will have to register for the new system, which could cause miles of queues.
ABTA’s director of public affairs Luke Petherbridge told the House of Lords committee: “Across the industry there is pretty widespread concern about that. It will dramatically increase processing time for UK tourists.”
“That is going to be a process that takes a significant amount of time, you are talking a matter at least, of several minutes instead of the 30 seconds or so that you may pass through the border.
“Clearly that is going to slow the process of moving passengers.”
This is likely to cause problems at places like Dover, he added, where it would be “incredibly difficult” to process Brits leaving the country.
Dover Port chief executive Doug Bannister warned back in September: “Right now, EES will work well in major airports or rail terminals with large, well-lit rooms.
“But there has been no process designed – none, zero zip – for a busy ferry terminal to process car loads of passengers on dark stormy nights.
“Even at the busiest times right now, with new post-Brexit rules, passport checks are taking 45 to 90 seconds per car.
“With the pre-registration involved a car with a family of four or five in it could take up to 10 minutes.”
Yet it could make wait times at airports for non-EU visitors, according to EU countries preparing to implement the systems ahead of peak season next year.
The Slovenian government told The Independent: “It takes up to four times longer to do the new process – border check + enrolment + verification.”
Austria warned that process times would at least “double compared to the current situation” while Croatia said that border checks would “certainly be significantly longer”.
A new European visa waiver scheme is also being introduced next year.
Brits will have to pay €7 – around £6.30 – for an ETIAS, to start in November.
However, Mr Petherbridge said this new system is unlikely to cause more problems for Brits, as travellers already need similar visas for destinations like the US.
