Latest news with #DougBannister
Irish Examiner
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
UK citizens face fingerprint checks each time they visit EU
British citizens who travel frequently to the EU face having their fingerprints individually checked each time they cross the border into the Schengen area because of delays in developing an app to verify biometrics digitally, it has emerged. It will be 'business as usual' this summer but 'a big change' in travel will be phased in from November, Doug Bannister, the chief executive of the Port of Dover has said. 'Significant infrastructure' including reclaiming 13 hectares of land in the Port of Dover to handle passengers getting out of cars and buses has been put in place to try to minimise disruption, Bannister said. Under the system being built, all car passengers will have to get out of their vehicle to be individually fingerprinted and photographed. On every subsequent journey, a fingerprint or a facial image will be verified along with passport number, in a major shift designed to get rid of 'wet stamping' and allow the number of days British visitors stay in the EU in any given year to be automatically recorded. It is envisaged that an app that can be installed on a border force tablet can be passed into the car for verification of each individual's biometrics. Frontex, the European border agency, has developed the app, but confirmed it was up to each member state to implement its use. 'We have been told that any app won't be ready any time before November, but hopefully it could come swiftly after that,' said Bannister. '[It means] second, third, fourth time travellers still need to have a biometric captured at the border,' he said, meaning passengers will still have to get out of their vehicle for border checks until the app is ready. The port prides itself on the speed with which it operates. Bannister says it can load and off-load a ferry 'with 120 trucks, 1,000 passengers and a couple of hundred cars in 45 minutes, faster than an A320 at Gatwick'. He is confident the biometric check regime being built will add just six minutes to a car journey. The new regime has presented particular challenges in Dover because the port is hemmed by the cliffs and there is no safe space for car passengers to be checked amid the flow of 10,000 trucks a day crossing the channel. 'In an airport you have a nice, air-conditioned, well-lit hall, and an orderly queue of foot passengers going through. But we needed to cater for a carload of four people on a large, stormy night. So we couldn't have people exit their vehicles [in the ferry queues]. That would be dangerous.' In an extraordinary solution supported by the UK and French governments, Dover will create a virtual frontier system, 1.4 miles across town for border checks on 12 hectares of reclaimed land. Peering down from the western cliffs, the first building to cater for coaches is already in place on a vast swathe of built-up ground currently topped with golden sand. A second bus and a separate car building will be installed in the coming months. To ensure the integrity of the border, buses will have their doors physically sealed with tape while they rejoin regular traffic across Dover town and continue a 1.4-mile journey from the western ferry to board the ferry at the eastern docks. Irregular movements between the biometric border and the ferry board will be monitored by a combination of AI and automatic number plate recognition. It isn't the only change Bannister is expecting in the coming months. He is also hopeful that the reset in the relationship between the UK and the EU will end the environmentally and economically damaging issue of trucks returning to the continent empty. Another byproduct of Brexit, it is estimated that on some days 30% to 40% of trucks have no cargo on them when they return to the continent because of strict checks on fresh food and farm products. These are expected to be scrapped as part of Keir Starmer's reset. With £144bn worth of goods traded over the channel every year, the Port of Dover is of critical economic interest to France and the UK, representing half of the total of UK goods exported to Europe, Bannister said. The EU and the UK have pledged to negotiate a new deal eliminating the checks on food, which will allow small food and farm producers to export to Europe once again. Read More Trump gives Elon Musk an Oval Office send-off
The Guardian
12 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
UK citizens face fingerprint checks each time they visit EU
British citizens who travel frequently to the EU face having their fingerprints individually checked each time they cross the border into the Schengen area because of delays in developing an app to verify biometrics digitally, it has emerged. It will be 'business as usual' this summer but 'a big change' in travel will be phased in from November, Doug Bannister, the chief executive of the Port of Dover has said. 'Significant infrastructure' including reclaiming 13 hectares of land in the Port of Dover to handle passengers getting out of cars and buses has been put in place to try to minimise disruption, Bannister said. Under the system being built, all car passengers will have to get out of their vehicle to be individually fingerprinted and photographed. On every subsequent journey, a fingerprint or a facial image will be verified along with passport number, in a major shift designed to get rid of 'wet stamping' and allow the number of days British visitors stay in the EU in any given year to be automatically recorded. It is envisaged that an app that can be installed on a border force tablet can be passed into the car for verification of each individual's biometrics. Frontex, the European border agency, has developed the app, but confirmed it was up to each member state to implement its use. 'We have been told that any app won't be ready any time before November, but hopefully it could come swiftly after that,' said Bannister. '[It means] second, third, fourth time travellers still need to have a biometric captured at the border,' he said, meaning passengers will still have to get out of their vehicle for border checks until the app is ready. The ort prides itself on the speed with which it operates. Bannister says it can load and off-load a ferry 'with 120 trucks, 1,000 passengers and a couple of hundred cars in 45 minutes, faster than an A320 at Gatwick'. He is confident the biometric check regime being built will add just six minutes to a car journey. The new regime has presented particular challenges in Dover because the port is hemmed by the cliffs and there is no safe space for car passengers to be checked amid the flow of 10,000 trucks a day crossing the channel. 'In an airport you have a nice, air-conditioned, well-lit hall, and an orderly queue of foot passengers going through. But we needed to cater for a carload of four people on a large, stormy night. So we couldn't have people exit their vehicles [in the ferry queues]. That would be dangerous.' In an extraordinary solution supported by the UK and French governments, Dover will create a virtual frontier system, 1.4 miles across town for border checks on 12 hectares of reclaimed land. Peering down from the western cliffs, the first building to cater for coaches is already in place on a vast swathe of built-up ground currently topped with golden sand. A second bus and a separate car building will be installed in the coming months. To ensure the integrity of the border, buses will have their doors physically sealed with tape while they rejoin regular traffic across Dover town and continue a 1.4-mile journey from the western ferry to board the ferry at the eastern docks. Irregular movements between the biometric border and the ferry board will be monitored by a combination of AI and automatic number plate recognition. It isn't the only change Bannister is expecting in the coming months. He is also hopeful that the reset in the relationship between the UK and the EU will end the environmentally and economically damaging issue of trucks returning to the continent empty. Another byproduct of Brexit, it is estimated that on some days 30% to 40% of trucks have no cargo on them when they return to the continent because of strict checks on fresh food and farm products. These are expected to be scrapped as part of Keir Starmer's reset. With £144bn worth of goods traded over the channel every year, the Port of Dover is of critical economic interest to France and the UK, representing half of the total of UK goods exported to Europe, Bannister said. The EU and the UK have pledged to negotiate a new deal eliminating the checks on food, which will allow small food and farm producers to export to Europe once again.
The Guardian
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Government considers sale of Brexit border checkpoint in Kent
The UK government is reportedly considering selling a post-Brexit border check facility in Kent that could fall out of use as a result of this week's trade pact with the EU. The site, based in Sevington, Ashford, was erected in 2021 with capacity for 1,300 lorries that were expected to face extra checks on plants and animal goods, including dairy and meat, entering and leaving Britain after Brexit. However, the deal between the UK and EU struck earlier this week is due to remove the need for routine health and veterinary certification on the import and export of farm products ranging from fresh meat and dairy products to vegetables, timber, wool and leather. The government is now on the hunt for a company willing to buy or repurpose the Sevington border control point. Ministers are said to have approached Eurotunnel directly, according to the Financial Times. The Port of Dover could also be in the running, having been in discussions with the government for years about the site. The Port of Dover chief executive, Doug Bannister, welcomed the UK government's deal with the EU. 'Clearly there is a lot of detail to work through on how that's to be implemented and we're keen to continue our discussions with government for what this means for the BCP [border control post] at Sevington,' he said. The new UK-EU deal could end up making 41 BCPs, built by British port operators in the wake of Brexit, redundant. The Guardian revealed on Wednesday that a separate £25m post-Brexit BCP in Portsmouth may have to be demolished as a result of the government's deal with the EU. The hi-tech facility at the UK's second busiest cross-Channel terminal was one of more than 100 BCPs around the country built to government specifications to handle post-Brexit checks on imports subject to sanitary and phytosanitary checks. Boasting 14 lorry bays, Portsmouth's 8,000 sq metre (86,000 sq ft) border site was designed to allow inspection of low- and high-risk goods in air-lock quarantine zones to prevent cross-contamination. However, it has been severely underused since it began operating in April last year, after the previous Conservative government's changes to the post-Brexit import regime, which significantly reduced the number of tests required. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion An average of three checks have been carried out each day at Portsmouth's BCP in the 12 months since it began operating, compared with the 80 a day for which it was built. It is understood that a decision on whether to close BCPs will depend on the final details of the UK-EU deal. Some checks, including on live animals, are expected to continue. A government spokesperson said: 'This government committed in its manifesto to negotiate an agreement to prevent unnecessary border checks, remove red tape for businesses and help tackle the cost of food, which is what we have delivered on.' Eurotunnel declined to comment.
The Independent
07-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
Dover port EU entry checks will only add ‘minutes to journey' after fears of hours-long queues
Europe's new entry-exit system (EES) will add only minutes to the journey time for motorists boarding ferries from Dover, The Independent has been told. The much-delayed border scheme will require each British traveller to the European Union to be fingerprinted and register a facial biometric, before passing through passport control – which at Dover takes place on UK soil. Eastern Docks, from where ferries depart for Calais and Dunkirk, was never designed for intensive border checks. But after Brexit, Boris Johnson's government negotiated for UK citizens to become 'third-country nationals'. At present that means every passport is scrutinised and stamped when arriving in or leaving the EU and wider Schengen area Council leaders in Kent have warned of queues of over 14 hours once EES is in force at Dover – and the nearby Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone. But the chief executive of the Port of Dover says the new process will add only minutes to the journeys of departing travellers – thanks to a new registration venue and a 'continental corridor' through the town, approved by the EU and French authorities. Doug Bannister told The Independent: 'Rather than being reliant on agents with tablets, which was what we were shooting for last year, we've changed our delivery mechanism to kiosk-based.' Outbound motorists and passengers who have not previously registered for the entry-exit system will be directed to a new compound where biometrics will be collected. It is currently under construction on reclaimed land at the Western Docks, a mile from the ferries. 'We're going to be creating a new facility in our Western Docks to allow the car traffic to be able to register itself before proceeding down to the Eastern Docks to board the ferries,' Mr Bannister said. Drivers and passengers will park, get out of their vehicles and register their fingerprints and facial biometrics at an array of kiosks that will collect data including the traveller's passport details. Once the formalities are complete, motorists will follow the A20 dual-carriageway through the town of Dover to Eastern Docks, where passport checks by French Police aux Frontières will take place as normal. With each car occupant already registered, the verification process should be brief. Officers will continue to stamp passports until the entry-exit system is in place throughout the Schengen area. 'The key part about the EES process is registering the biometric details alongside the passport,' the port boss said. 'That was where the incremental process is going to be. We're not anticipating the border check process to be very different from how it is today.' Modelling by the Port of Dover indicates that the registration process could take six minutes for each car, followed by an average eight-minute drive from Western to Eastern Docks. Having each part of a two-stage border check separated by a mile raises questions about the security of the system, and in particular the possibility that unregistered passengers join the vehicle en route. So AI will be deployed to detect any unusual activity on the 'Continental corridor' between the two checkpoints. Mr Bannister said: 'In order to provide great assurance about the process, we're piloting new technology based on some artificial intelligence to be able to provide the security of the vehicle transit from the Western Docks to the Eastern Docks on behalf of the European Union. 'If that vehicle turns up in that eight-minute window, then it's a good probability that everything is OK with it. 'If it takes 28 minutes to go what should be an eight-minute drive, that could flag up as a 'red'. So there might be further intervention at the border check part of the process that's required by the Police aux Frontières.' The Dover CEO said the new procedure should work without creating any additional queues. 'The magic number that we've had to try and build our infrastructure for peak-hour processing is 600 non-European cars per hour. 'This facility at 100 per cent efficiency will be well over 800 cars an hour and even at 80 per cent efficiency, it'll still be about 650 cars per hour. 'We will be facing a period of uncertainty when this comes in. Will the technology work well? Will the processes work well? 'The fact that they're introducing [EES] in the autumn at a lower travel time, and they're adopting a progressive implementation, gives us time to really check our operational processes, make improvements prior to the peak travel times: Christmas, February half-term, Easter, and then of course, for summer 2026. 'We're feeling very confident about how that process is going to work, and we've had huge support from the European Union to enable us to do this, and the French authorities. 'If it goes well, we may see this as a feature on all road crossing points.' Key highway frontiers in and out of the European Union and wider Schengen Area include the borders of Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia and Turkey – as well as Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. The much-delayed Etias online permit system for British visitors to Europe will be introduced no earlier than six months after the full EES is running well. That will be October 2026 at the earliest. For the first six months of Etias, the permit will not be mandatory – meaning UK travellers will not require one before April 2027.
The Independent
03-04-2025
- The Independent
Operation Brock deployed in Kent ahead of Easter getaway
Traffic management system Operation Brock has been deployed in Kent ahead of the Easter getaway period. National Highways said the contraflow was in place at 6am on Thursday. The scheme is designed to manage traffic flows on the M20 motorway in the event of delays at Channel ports, which will see high demand from holidaymakers in the coming days as most schools in England are breaking up for Easter. It has been introduced on a 13-mile stretch of the motorway between Junction 8 for Maidstone and Junction 9 for Ashford. Lorries heading for the Port of Dover or Eurotunnel are being directed to follow signs to join a specific lane at Junction 8. All other traffic for the coast crosses over to enter the contraflow on the London-bound carriageway. Sean Martell, National Highways head of service delivery for the South East, said: 'Our job is to keep the country moving and Operation Brock helps us to do that during particularly busy periods at the ports in Kent.' He urged people heading to the continent over Easter to 'allow yourself some extra time'. He added: 'We work hard to try and avoid disruption and delays, but these things can happen so always remember to carry essential supplies such as food and water and make sure your vehicle has plenty of fuel.' Operation Brock involves narrow lanes and a reduced 50mph speed limit, leading to criticism from local leaders. Meanwhile, the Port of Dover said it is part of a pilot to accelerate border procedures for school groups travelling by ferry to France. From Thursday, school groups that submit passenger information to their ferry operator at least 72 hours before travel can benefit from faster processing during French border checks in Dover. Port of Dover chief executive Doug Bannister said: 'This pilot is a significant step forward in making school travel between the UK and France more seamless and accessible. 'By streamlining border processes and enabling visa-free travel for eligible students, we are reducing significant administration time, which in turn ensures a smoother, more efficient experience for school groups and potentially reduces queue times for additional tourist and freight traffic.' Passengers were stuck on coaches for more than 10 hours at the start of the Easter school holiday period in 2023. This was attributed to delays in processing passengers as French border officials carried out extra checks and stamped UK passports following Brexit. The RAC is predicting more than 21 million leisure journeys will be made by car in the UK between Thursday and Monday, leading to delays on routes popular with holidaymakers. Getaway traffic is expected to reach a peak on Friday and Saturday.
