Eurostar general secretary Gareth Williams told the Justice and Home Affairs committee he would like to start testing the EU Entry-Exit system (EES) – whose roll-out has been delayed yet again – on between 5% and 10% of holidaymakers to see how the technology is working “in a real-world environment”.
“[I would like] to take away that element of Big Bang and build confidence and experience progressively from there,” Williams said on Tuesday (15 October).
His comments come as the European Commission announced last week the latest delay to the biometric scheme’s launch, revealing the roll-out would not take place on 10 November as previously declared due to a lack of preparedness by some EU countries.
“It is clear that we’re not going to be ready for 10 November,” EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson told the BBC on 11 October. “We will be going for a phased approach, step by step.”
The EES – which was initially meant to be introduced in 2022 as a way to replace passport stamping – will require travellers from the UK and other non-EU countries to submit to biometric checks when crossing external EU borders.
The delay could nevertheless have its own upsides as it offers stakeholders more time to future-proof infrastructure and explore technologies that could help streamline processes, drastically reducing queuing times at the likes of the Port of Dover, Folkestone and London St Pancras.
“What we’re looking at is a technology that will enable us to capture biometric data – facial biometrics in particular – in moving vehicles so that people don’t have to stop at a particular location or we don’t need to have specific lighting or weather conditions [for t to work],” added John Keefe, chief corporate and public affairs officer at Channel Tunnel owner Getlink.
“We hope to engage with the EU and national authorities in France and the UK and bring these forward to make the most out of the delay and bring an even better system into place when [the EES] goes live.”
However, Keefe has lamented the EU’s decision, telling the committee the delay will bear costs which inevitably will be passed onto customers.
Getlink has in fact already put in place all the infrastructure needed for the EES roll-out and has hired additional staff to manage people flows.
“Preparations are certainly not being written off, but they will be hibernated over the winter and into next year,” Keefe added. “This will inevitably pass onto consumers. Everything we do to improve the journey of our customers gets passed on.”
