In order to temporarily help the tourism industry, the European Union has postponed plans to tighten entrance requirements for visitors arriving from the United Kingdom.
The European Travel Information and Authorization System was going to be implemented for British citizens traveling to Europe starting in May of next year.
The ETIAS, which will cost roughly £5 and last for two years, is comparable to the Esta, an American document that functions much like a visa waiver.
Before departing for Europe, travelers from the UK must submit an online application for them. Without one, they won’t be permitted inside.
However, a brand-new, labor-intensive entrance and exit system is still being implemented in May.
This will need all non-EU arrivals – which includes Britons after Brexit – to have four fingerprints scanned and a photograph taken.
The tourism industry, which is still hurting from airport disruption and lines at the Channel Tunnel to France, may feel some respite in light of the ETIAS delay.
The EES is anticipated to prolong these delays at the pertinent borders because French law mandates that data collection must be carried out under official supervision.
We are looking into all options, John Keefe, the head of public affairs for Getlink, which runs the Eurotunnel, told The Times.
The problem is that a French border official must conduct the inspections and they cannot be outsourced.
‘Under the current plans everyone will have to get out of their car to be processed, which comes with the added risk of people walking around in lines of live traffic.’
‘We would be looking at 1,600 to 1,700 passengers per hour to be processed for the first time. That’s an impossible task in the space that we have available.
Congestion is a concern to our highways, including the M20, the A20, and the A2. Kent becomes inaccessible once all of those locations are crowded.
Tim Reardon, the Dover Harbour Board’s head of EU withdrawal, expressed concerns to MPs the same last year.
“In our situation, almost everyone crosses the border in a car and in a group,” he stated at the time.
There is no such thing as an e-gate for a car, and there is also no such thing as a group travel e-gate process. All of them involve one-at-a-time techniques.