Image source, Simon Jones/BBC
- Author, Simon Jones
- Role, BBC News, South East
The Channel Tunnel operator Getlink has insisted the company will be ready for new border checks due to be introduced in October – amid fears of long queues and travel chaos in Kent.
The Entry Exit System will require British visitors to the EU to register biometric information.
Kiosks, that passengers will need to use instead of having their passports stamped, have just arrived at the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone.
The operator’s chief corporate and public affairs officer John Keefe said it hoped the process would be “such a smooth experience” that it would attract more customers.
Getlink, formerly known as Eurotunnel, has spent about £70m building an area about the size of two football pitches at Folkestone where people will have their faces scanned and fingerprints taken.
Image source, Simon Jones/BBC
The firm said it would add about five minutes to each vehicle’s journey, depending on the number of passengers.
“We’ve done a lot of modelling, a lot of work with AI,” said Mr Keefe.
“We’ve built a system that will cope with our peak levels of traffic without really adding much to the journey time.”
He described the kiosks as “idiot-proof” and and said a redesign of traffic flow within the border control area meant it could “get even more traffic through our terminals in those conditions than we do today”.
Image source, Simon Jones/BBC
Preparations for the biometric checks, due to come into force on 6 October, are also underway at Dover’s ferry port and Eurostar’s London St Pancras terminus.
As the registration process will need to be done in person at the port or station, there have been repeated warnings of bottlenecks as a result.
A spokesperson for the Port of Dover also said it was on track with the “delivery stage” of providing the “necessary port infrastructure” for the change.