Burnham urged to lobby EU leaders directly to waive EES border controls
📰 source: theguardian_business · 💼 business
andy burnham pressed to lobby eu leaders directly to suspend the new ees border system as 2.2 million british holidaymakers travel abroad this weekend. calum miller (lib dems) said burnham should call on eu states to drop the 'bungled, malfunctioning' system until september. he says brexit now puts millions at risk of ruined holidays. abta said spain is top destination; greece has indicated it won't impose biometric checks on uk nationals. transport secretary heidi alexander raised concerns with eu commissioners. easyjet urged eu to suspend ees until end of october. port of dover expects busiest days with 10,000 extra cars but queues under 40 minutes.
return flights remain biggest anxiety. the european union's system requires non-eu citizens to register, be photographed and fingerprinted, technically in full force since april. border police have relaxed requirements during extreme delays, but some passengers still missed flights. french border police at dover have decided not to fingerprint car travellers, so traffic passed smoothly so far. the government funded ees facilities at dover to manage congestion.
why it matters: potential suspension of ees checks could ease travel disruption, boosting airline and travel stocks during peak summer season.
source: theguardian_business
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