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They stamp the passport now. But they opened and looked at the passports anyway. I've been trough customs and borders since. It literally takes a second longer if that.
Before or after brexit, there are still a myriad of other reasons that can cause issues; IT, transport, staff sickness, strikes, poor management, bad practices. These things happen. For people to knee-jerk blame something that happened several years and applies to all ports, all airports and eurostar, yet is clearly focused on one port route, is disingenuous.
And before anyone says.."what about airport queues?" it's the same across the States and Europe. Again, it just wasn't reported. For people who consider themselves so pro-european, they often don't follow the news from there very much..
https://time.com/6192903/why-air-travel-is-bad-now/
Doug Bannister, Chief Executive, Port of Dover said: "Since the UK left the EU, we are subject to full passport checks. Before, all of our freight traffic would go through in about zero seconds and now it's 60 seconds to maybe up to 90 seconds per truck. All of that adds up.
"What we have done, as the Port of Dover, is install new infrastructure and put in new operational processes to make certain that the traffic can flow through as best as it can with the new control regimes that are in place.
"Now, we are reliant on other players to do their part to staff the booths.
"Well, we have had lots of good dialogue and we work well with French immigration police and they certainly have high attention on our operation down here. Ultimately, it comes down to their resourcing levels and we know resourcing around Europe and the world is tight these days.
"The European Entry Exit System (EES), the way it's currently thought through is that it will work well in an airport, but as of now, there is no technology, no process and nothing designed for vehicular traffic in a busy ferry terminal.
"This is something that is concerning us because if we don't get that right, everything will stop."
https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/20...-reduce-delays
No one doubts that changes have occured Jon. I appreciate you may not, but most people react to change positively and implement new systems to deal with it.
That doesn't change the fact that irrespective of being inside, or outside of the EU, that systems can (and do) still break down. If there aren't enough staff to look to passports then there aren't enough staff to look at passports, whether they are stamping them or not.
I just don't understand why you are so keen to spread mistruths when neither side of this dispute is blaming Brexit?
If this is down to Brexit, why isn't it happening at Portsmouth? At Plymouth? Hull? Folkestone? Felixtowe etc?
In two days we will still be outside the EU, but I am willing to bet that the queues will be largely gone - hence, the cause was not the thing that hasn't changed in those two days.
I watched a string of TV interviews with French officials and politicians yesterday that all blamed Brexit. All describing in detail the scale of the additional checks required, the limits on expanding facilities at Dover, and the expectation that this particular bottleneck will be with us for several years more until technology, capacity or changes to processes can be introduced to mitigate it. There may have been some French border officials missing at the start of play yesterday but the traffic was still backing up once all the booths were fully staffed.
Latest line from that Richard Tice of whatever party he belongs to today is that it’s all the fault of Remainers who are not putting in the required effort to make a success of Brexit.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...-france-border
Brexit means security checks taking longer, says port chief
Doug Bannister, chief executive of the Port of Dover, has said that extra checks needed since Brexit were causing longer transaction times at border control, after French politician Pierre-Henri Dumont blamed Brexit for the disruption seen on Friday.
Bannister told the Today programme:
We are operating in a post-Brexit environment which does mean that passports need to be checked, they need to be stamped and indeed the capable people that do man the booths – police aux frontieres – they’re doing their job that they need to do now.
He added that the port had “created more border capacity so that the overall throughput can be maintained”, and that their modelling had shown there will be some “very peak busy days during the summer season” but “for the most part we should be able to cope with the traffic”.
Earlier, the ISU – the union for borders, immigration and customs staff – also said Brexit was to blame for additional checks.
yawn.
I got it from the Chief Executive of the Port of Dover Jon, who I suspect knows more about it than your goodself. I'll remind you, he said:
"The chief executive of the Port of Dover said being “let down” by poor resourcing at the French border was “immensely frustrating”.
How about this from the Port of Portsmouth (what do those idiots know, eh!? I know a bloke on twitter who says different!)
"For anyone departing from Portsmouth in the coming days, you'll be reassured to know that operations are currently running smoothly."
How's this for a deal? If the queues are the same in a weeks time, I'll admit it's Brexit related. If they aren't, then you admit that perhaps it is to do with something not related to Brexit? After all, we will still be outside the EU in a week but perhaps they will have sorted out staffing issues in France? Deal?
Yawn indeed.
You are cherry picking quotes from the Port of Dover Chief Exec. I gave you one above saying Brexit was a cause of delay.
Of course the queues aren't going to be constant. The Dover infrastructure (and several other ports or points of exit) cannot cope with traffic spikes (after several years of Covid quiet) in combination with the additional post-Brexit checks.
You claim no-one has made this point and that only Dover is affected. Completely wrong on both counts.
So no deal then? You admit that queues will subside and that therefore it's likely due to staffing issues in France?
Afterall, in a weeks time we will still be outside the EU, but the other will have changed?
I have never said Brexit is a saviour to all problems - it isn't. And even if it makes 100 things better, it's still possible it makes 90 things worse. There are greater checks now, thats undeniable. When I entered Spain in May my passport was stamped, previously it wasn't, but it took literally 1 second.
The far bigger issue, and the issue seemingly at play here, is that the French side was understaffed yesterday and that is going to play a far bigger role in delays than anything else.
How many times?
No.
That is what you say, and keep on saying.
You talk about an additional 1 second to stamp a passport when almost every other commentator describes a longer and more involved process.
When Simon Calder tells you that you've got it wrong it is time to admit defeat, take down your Liz Truss poster and put the Daily Express in the bin - where it belongs.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-62273289
Glad to help.
I've literally done it though Jon - I've been through passport controls, twice this year.
There is more than one link between the UK and the EU. There are dozens, and we left many many busy weekends ago. Yet the problem seems to be particularly bad this weekend on one particular crossings.
Does that not pinpoint that the problem may be more specific? Maybe it isn't, maybe you are correct, but maybe you aren't.
We will tell in due course, and like I said, in one week, the reasons you give for the problems (leaving the EU) will still all exist, so we will be able to see more clearly will we not?
Classic case of brexiter meeting someone who knows what they're talking about https://twitter.com/Haggis_UK/status...3waLmjbXQ&s=19
Just listening to a phone in about.all of the queues at ports on the south coast and most callers were taking what seems to me to be the entirely reasonable line that Brexit was one of a few contributory factors that led to the situation, but there were a couple of callers who said it was down to this, that and whatever, but absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Brexit.
What is it is with people like that? It’s as if they see Brexit as a living, breathing thing, a six year old tha needs loving and nurturing - it’s quite creepy actually.
Very effective closing shot in this video.
https://twitter.com/bydonkeys/status...LwH1hvIBrCbJDg
Eurozone economy
Europe’s stretched tourist workforce struggles to meet surge in demand
JULY 24, 2022
Bookings up 20% .
Holiday companies have been accused of over Booking slots.
Folks at Dover will tell you this is the worse week every year .
Even Eurotunnel called the French staffing arrangements poor soon fixed couple days later ..
It seems no one is prepared , main problems are ground staff and costs its the same in North America ...
Another cult is being formed called everything is down to Brexit if the City don't go up we know what to blame ..