The move, which will be discussed by the EU in June, would come as a relief to coach operators and transport bosses, whose passengers endured delays of up to 14 hours at Easter trying to go to Calais, and who said they feared "pandemonium" if fingerprint checks were added to passport controls at Dover, Eurotunnel in Folkestone and the Eurostar terminal in London.
Doug Bannister, the chief executive of the Port of Dover, said a repeat or escalation of the congestion at Easter would be "unacceptable".
Before Brexit, checks on passports of drivers, passengers and schoolchildren on coach tours were cursory, but queues have built up because of the return of coach travel and the post-Brexit requirement that border police "wet stamp" passports and check that the passenger is not overstaying. At Easter coaches were taking up to an hour to process.
This story is from the May 09, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the May 09, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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