Dover Braces for 18,000 Travellers as EES Queues Build
dover faced hour-long processing waits by 6am on Friday as border checks lengthened with the rollout of the EU’s entry-exit system. About 18,000 travellers are due through the Port of Dover between Friday and Sunday, with departures expected to peak on Saturday morning.
Port of Dover border checks
Police are still carrying out manual checks at the port despite the kiosks installed there, and the EES software for the French borders is yet to be fully operational. That leaves ferry passengers moving through one of Britain’s busiest holiday gateways through a slower process just as the bank holiday getaway begins.
Mark Tanzer, chief executive of Abta, said: “In the face of economic and geopolitical challenges, people are still getting away on their holidays this May and making the most of some excellent deals.”
Britain roads and rail
The Port of Dover is only one part of a crowded travel weekend. The RAC expects almost 19 million drivers to hit Britain’s roads over the long weekend, 1 million more than the same holiday period in 2025, with the heaviest traffic likely on Friday and Saturday.
The AA warned of traffic jams heading towards resorts on the east and north-west coasts of England and queues on roads leading to the south-east and Cornwall. Inrix said the worst traffic this weekend would be on the M1, M25, M5 and M6, while Network Rail said most of Britain’s rail network would be open despite £64m worth of planned engineering work.
Saturday morning at Dover
Departures at the Port of Dover are expected to peak on Saturday morning, when the port will be handling holiday traffic at the same time as the new border system works through manual checks and incomplete software support. Temperatures are forecast to pass 30C in places by Monday, adding another pressure point for travelers making plans around the weekend.
For passengers using Dover, the practical message is simple: expect delays before boarding, especially across Friday and Saturday, and build extra time into the trip. The next movement in the story is the Saturday morning departure peak at the port, when the busiest flow of the weekend is due to meet the new border regime head-on.
