Holiday chaos on way: Millions face border delays due to new passport security checks

Holidaymakers face five-mile traffic jams on the busiest days when new passport checks come into force next month.

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire warned yesterday that travellers should leave home early to ensure they get a place on ferries and trains.

From April 8, the passports of millions leaving the country from seaports, airports and rail stations will be checked in a security clampdown.

But travel firms warned that this will cause delays and congestion with “coachloads of little old ladies” bearing the brunt.

Currently passengers leaving Channel ports are often waved through without checks.

Under the new rules, every passport will be physically scanned by a ferry or train company employee to create an electronic record which will be sent to the Home Office.

But critics say that if officials spot a problem with just one passenger on a coach, the rest will be delayed.

The UK Chamber of Shipping said that a trial in November found that the exit checks could nearly double the check-in time.

It suggested that on the busiest days during the summer, tailbacks could stretch for at least five miles from Dover almost as far as Folkestone.

P&O Ferries said: “The approaches to the port of Dover can get extremely busy at peak holiday times and we are concerned that the queues are going to get worse.

"We are advising passengers to have their passports ready at check-in.

“We have been asked to do these checks by the Government but we are expected to supply the equipment.

“We are doing this voluntarily but we have been told that if we don’t do it, it will be imposed on us anyway.”

Eurotunnel spokesman John Keefe said that on peak days it can deal with up to 12,000 cars.

He said: “The smallest delay in the journey at any point in the terminal results in an immediate tailback.

“Those tailbacks – cars or trucks – are the kind of thing that can very quickly overflow on to the motorway.

“On a peak holiday, when we have got the family, we have got all the children, we have got the grandads in the car as well – five, six, seven, nine people in a people carrier.

"That takes a long time per ­vehicle.

"A queue backs up towards the motorway and we have traffic congestion.

"It also means our trains aren’t filling up and that’s just not good for business.

“We believe there are smarter ways of doing this.

"Technology that works very well is in place on the borders of other countries.”

The AA said: “Travellers are going to have to build extra time into their journeys because ­inevitably when a new process is introduced you can expect ­teething problems.”

The system’s introduction has been delayed for a week to avoid the Easter weekend.

It is designed to spot foreign nationals who have overstayed and to help police and security services track criminals and terrorists.

But the new checks do not apply to private planes or boats, travel to Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, or to school parties from the EU.

Mr Brokenshire said people should set out on their journeys earlier on busy days but he rejected “extreme stories” being spread about the impact.

He said: “There are often queues at both Eurotunnel and also Dover in terms of their day-to-day operations.”

But he stressed officials had been working closely with sea ports and airports on the ­system.

The Home Office said: “From April, exit checks will allow us to confirm a person’s departure from the UK, delivering on the coal­ition Government’s commitment to introduce exit checks.”