Ferry port/Tunnel check in

[Théière]

With the heightened security at the moment, friends took almost two hours to get through the checks for passport and vehicles. 

The passport one is strange as it can only take the same amount of time to scan the passport as it does when not on high alert but at the moment it's taking much longer.

What has now happened to make the process much longer? Or to put it another way what are we the public paying for that the civil servants got paid to do but didn't do properly at the borders before?

[Pierre ZFP]

When I came back last Wednesday, the passport checks took no longer than usual, indeed they were very quick. There were not too many cars but it did seem that all of us were selected for security checks which again were quite speedy, maybe I was just lucky.  The only hold up I had was due to the weather and high winds.  I was told there was a 20 minute delay but it was closer to an hour

[lindal1000]

If they were coming into France I think I heard that all passports are being checked against three databases now, rather than the cursory glance that took place before.

[Loiseau]

Only talking about travelling in the opposite direction, via the Tunnel ex-Calais, last weekend:

There was a two-hour queue just to check in at the 14 péage-style gates; this process was obviously deliberately slowed down because there were only TWO queues for the subsequent (previously very casual) French security, so there would have been no space in between to hold any more checked-in vehicles if they had come through any faster.

The UK Immigration scrutiny, which is usually pretty thorough, was about the same, but was followed by another security check with someone wanting to look in the car.

Things would speed up if they opened more lanes to carry out the French and UK checks, but I suppose they can't pluck them out of nowhere that quickly.

So maybe the problem is similar at the Dover/Folkestone end.

Angela

[NickP]

We used the Tunnel yesterday from Caliais, no problems at all. Every customs post open French side and 4 UK side. Same checks as usual, steering wheel and door handles. Interesting that the French side was all open as it was 12.30 when we arrived. Check in to boarding took 25 minutes.

[vette]

Having travelled through the tunnel more than 300 times over the past 10 years, I am probably qualified to make some observations.

Firstly, going from the UK to France is usually hassle free with the odd explosives check and sometimes, no checks whatsoever from anybody. Sometimes, just a cursory wave from the French checkpoint.

Secondly, travelling from France to the UK through the UKBA checkpoint at Calais. Well, it's as though there is a deliberate intention to slow things down. I sometimes wonder what the point of a Biometric Passport actually is.

Thirdly, since the system at Calais was altered so that you go through Passport control before entering the rest area, things have definitely become worse.

That's my take on it anyway.

[minnie]

We left Newhaven on Sunday night. While waiting to board the ferry we noticed that thorough searches were being made on vehicles coming in from Dieppe. For us going to Dieppe there was the occasional cursory car check. When we arrived in Dieppe we were prepared for more stringent checks but all there appeared to be was one gendarme with a torch walking along the line of vehicles and shining it in through the occasional car window. Passport checks remained the same.

[Théière]

Thanks for you input folks, seems it the ferries which are a bit slower, possibly after the headlines in the UK red tops that a ferry might be hijacked (someone's been watching "Speed2").

The delay was from France to the UK, sorry should have said.

I guess the checks are less on the tunnel as the refugees just walk through when they want so not much point in checking cars [:-))]

[AnOther]

Coming over on the Dover-Dunkerque ferry on Tuesday night having already lost an hour due to an accident on the M20 (J11-11A) because of some 'experiment' - according to the signage - it took another good hour to cover the last 5 miles or so.

Turns out they checking every lorry individually at the bottom of the hill and because of that there must have been 1000 of them queued up in the inside lane.

The itself wasn't the problem though, it was the small number ars*hole truckers who tried to jump the queue in the second lane and then trying to get in line when they finally realised that they were going to have to and nobody could or would let them.

But for that we would have caught the 22:00 ferry but missed by minutes, so had to wait for the midnight which is what we were actually booked on.

On biometric passports, the first time 'er indoors flew into Stansted with hers it was hellish busy and she idly visually tagged somebody in one of the other queues and they got through much quicker than her, guess which queue we'll be using next time !

[Théière]

Yes the M20 when dare I say it, it has this problem frequently, it's my opinion that the A2 is the better route into Dover as should they be queuing on the Jubilee Way as well there is still the old route through the town which most lorries can't do.

Yes you have to look at the airports for the new, shorter queue.