New EU border rules set to make holidays more expensive
Date: 2024-10-21IF you’re heading abroad next year, your trip is likely to go up in price because of new border rules being introduced.
The new Entry/Exit System (EES) is to be rolled out across points across the UK including Dover, Folkestone and London St Pancras.
The new system will scrap the stamping of passports and replace it with biometric checks.
First proposed back in 2016, it has been constantly delayed, with the plans to start on November this year pushed back again.
An official date in 2025 to be confirmed.
Despite this, many of the ports across the UK have been introducing new systems in a bid to reduce the waiting times expected at the border.
This include the Eurotunnel in Folkestone, the Eurostar at London St Pancras and ferry services at Dover.
Eurotunnel’s John Keefe said they had already spent €80million (£67million) on the infrastructure needed, with as many as 200 new kisosks in Folkestone and France.
However, he has warned that the millions spent is likely to affect holiday costs.
He said, the i reports: “A cost like this inevitably is passed on to the consumer.
“This delay and the introduction of EES has cost in itself €80m, so whether it’s delayed or it’s live now, there is still a cost that is carried by the consumer.â€
There are already fears of queues as long as 14 hours at the border, especially at Dover which will impact the wider area of Kent.
Tim Reardon, head of EU exit for the Dover Harbour Board previously warned last year: “There is no way of doing a biometric control without getting everyone out of the vehicle.
Tourists have even been advised to travel with “extra supplies” such as food, water and nappies in case of the huge queues.
But new concerns have arisen, with airlines warning that passengers could be stuck on planes if the airport is too congested while waiting to be processed.
EasyJet‘s Johan Lundgren said at an Abta conference this month: “In the worst case you actually can’t disembark, you hold people on the plane.
What does EES mean for Brits, according to our travel expert
Head of Travel Lisa Minot weighs in further on what EES will mean for you
SPEAKING to the bosses of easyJet and TUI at the ABTA travel convention this week, it was obvious to me there is a huge frustration at the chaotic roll-out of the new EU Entry Exit System.
Delayed multiple times, it was meant to be launching on November 10 but even that is not yet confirmed.
In recent weeks, France, Germany and the Netherlands all indicated they were not ready to launch the new system.
Airports, ferry terminals and the entire travel industry are desperate for clarity. They’ve invested millions in new infrastructure, they want to put plans in place to counter any disruption that could inevitably happen.
An app to allow visitors to pre-register their details before they even get to a border was meant to launch at the same time as the new system.
Yet it seems the app itself will not be ready until next summer.
EasyJet boss Johan told me: “We should have had the ability to do pre-registration from the very start of the new system.â€
And the chaos isn’t helped by the fact that individual EU member states are all interpreting the new system in different ways.
What British travellers – and the industry as a whole – need is a clear indication of when the ESS will start and just how it will wor
“We have to think about what can actually happen.”
Neil Swanson, who was appointed UK and Ireland managing director for tour operator Tui last month, predicted there “could be some hiccups” with EES.
The Department for Transport has already announced £10.5 million of funding for UK ports to deal with EES.
The new ETIAS system is also to be introduced, although this isn’t until next year.
ETIAS, a visa-waiver, will require all Brits to pay €7 when visiting Europe, and will last three years.
