Holidaymakers queue for more than four hours at Dover in Bank Holiday getaway thanks to new EU border system

By OLIVIA CHRISTIE, NEWS REPORTER Published: 13:08, 23 May 2026 | Updated: 13:29, 23 May 2026 French authorities have been forced to suspend controversial new EU border checks at Dover after holidaymakers became stuck in four-hour queues in the sweltering heat.  Roads around the Kent port are 'heavily congested' with traffic jams of around two hours to access the site, according to Port of Dover Travel.  These waits have been exacerbated by the roll out of a new automated EU border system that is slowing down holidaymakers going through French passport control.  The scheme, which came into force on April 10, involves Britons having their fingerprints registered before they can enter the free movement Schengen Area.  However, French authorities are yet to switch on the machines that carry out these biometric checks at Dover.  This is understood to have caused lengthier delays as officials were still having to create digital profiles for travellers. The queues at UK ports today come as the country is in the midst of a week-long heatwave - with temperatures expected to peak at 33C on Monday.  Today is also set to be very warm and sunny with 30C likely to be recorded in the south of England, the Met Office said. Masses of cars queue for French border control at the Port of Dover today  Traffic queuing for the Euro Tunnel site along the M20 motorway in Folkestone, Kent The queues at UK ports today come as the country is in the midst of a week-long heatwave - with temperatures expected to peak at 33C on Monday This would be higher than the temperatures forecast in Athens in Greece, Split in Croatia and even Victoria in the Seychelles. An amber heat health alert for the 'exceptional spell' of 'notable weather' for May has been issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). It covers the East Midlands, West Midlands, the east of England, London and the South East and will remain in place until 5pm on Wednesday. Photographs from Dover show hundreds of cars waiting in enormous queues at the port as the sun bears down.  Waiting times peaked at around four hours this morning - with travellers booked onto the Shuttle service at Folkestone also facing two-and-a-half hour delays.  The Port of Dover said in a statement: 'We recognise that the border process is slower with the current EES system, and this May Half Term is the first peak period since its introduction. 'French border teams are doing their best within the parameters given and are working with the highest available resources. We are continuing to work hard with them and our other partners to reduce wait times and get you on your way as quickly as possible. 'It is extremely important to stick to main routes on your journey to the Port, as not doing so causes extra delays and access issues for our local community.' The Port of Dover later confirmed that French police had suspended the Entry/Exit System (EES) border requirement to help reduce processing times for travellers. It said in a post on X: 'We are pleased that Police Aux Frontieres (PAF) have responded positively by invoking the Article 9 clause of the EES regulations.' People enjoy the sunshine at the Strand Lido in Gillingham today Travellers booked onto the Shuttle service at Folkestone are facing two-and-a-half hour delays Tourists out in the hot weather at Buckingham Palace in London today  People enjoy the hot weather in St James's Park in London Meanwhile, strike action and engineering work has been causing disruption on a number of routes on Britain's railways this Bank Holiday weekend.  Walkouts by members of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association yesterday and today in a dispute over pay have affected West Midlands Railway (WMR) and London Northwestern Railway services. Network Rail engineering work also means parts of key intercity lines will be shut. The East Coast Main Line will be closed between York and Darlington from today through to Monday. Buses will replace trains between Newport and Bristol Parkway from today for two weeks. There will be no Thameslink services through central London between today and Monday, affecting services to Gatwick and Luton airports. Travel trade organisation Abta said there will be a surge in families heading off on holiday this weekend as it marks the start of half-term breaks for many schools. It reported strong demand for short-haul sunshine holidays in destinations such as mainland Spain, Italy, the Balearic and Canary Islands, and Portugal, as well as city breaks in Milan, Nice and Barcelona. But representative body Airports Council International reported last month that EU border checks were causing delays of up to three hours, with airports in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy among the worst affected. More than 100 easyJet passengers missed a flight from Milan Linate to Manchester last month because of delays at passport desks.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. 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