Extra EU border checks suspended at English port after long delays for ferry to France

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LONDON (AP) — Extra European Union border checks were suspended Saturday at the Port of Dover after throngs of passengers waited hours in the heat to board ferries to cross the English Channel, officials said.

French border authorities stopped gathering additional data required of non-EU passengers to speed up processing times as people tried to get away for a three-day weekend. Travelers were stuck in long lines on what became the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures reaching 86 degrees (30 Celsius).

“It’s taken me six hours to get on my ferry today,” driver Jon Lelliot told the BBC.

The new EU Entry-Exit System, or EES, using biometric screening with photos and fingerprints to replace passport stamping has been widely in use for about a month. But it can be suspended at busy times.

The holiday weekend had been expected to be the first big test of the new system as 8,000 cars had booked passage from Dover to France on Saturday.

“Despite having assurances from authorities from our government and the French around how this would work, it really was slow processing this morning,” Doug Bannister, CEO of the port, said. “We’re all quite frustrated.”

Wait times eased later in the day after the checks were suspended, port officials said.