France suspends biometric border checks at Dover after hours-long queues

French border police temporarily suspended biometric checks at the Port of Dover on Saturday after thousands of holidaymakers faced delays of up to two and a half hours at the terminal, as the first peak period since the European Union's new digital border system became fully operational last month.

The port described the situation as "challenging" and said it had "actively escalated" with French authorities. In a statement, the port said it was "pleased that Police Aux Frontieres (PAF) have responded positively by invoking the Article 9 clause of the EES regulations." The clause allows for checks to be temporarily relaxed. "While conventional border checks will still be undertaken, this will now enable PAF to significantly reduce the border processing time," the port added.

The EU Entry/Exit System (EES), which replaces passport stamps with digital registration, became fully operational last month. Because French authorities had not yet switched on the machines used for biometric checks, officials had to create individual traveler profiles, leading to longer waits. The biometric measures have now been temporarily suspended, while conventional border checks remain in place.

Travellers faced up to two hours' delay reaching the port and up to a further two and a half hours to complete processing at the terminal on Saturday morning. By lunchtime, the processing time at check-in was under an hour, and by 14:00 the port said traffic was "free-flowing." Passengers who missed their ferry crossing due to waiting times will be able to travel on the next available crossing free of charge, the port said.

Port of Dover CEO Doug Bannister told the BBC the port expected more than 8,000 cars on Saturday. He said 84 kiosks had been installed to accommodate the new digital system and "handle these peak volumes efficiently and safely." But "despite having assurances from authorities, from our government, from the French around how this would work it really was slow processing this morning," Bannister said. "I think we're all quite frustrated."

LeShuttle, which operates the Channel Tunnel service, reported delays of around one and a half hours on train services between Folkestone and Calais due to longer processing times at the border.

EasyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis called on EU countries — particularly Spain — to drop the new rules, saying the additional checks would "put [holidaymakers] off" travelling.

Saturday was the warmest day of the year so far, with the highest temperature of 30.3C recorded in Frittenden, Kent. Amber heat health alerts are in place for parts of England until 5pm on Wednesday.