Relief for Brit tourists as EU plan to fingerprint travellers at the border is delayed indefinitely amid fears scheme would spark travel chaos

A European Union scheme to impose new border controls on non-EU nationals has been shelved indefinitely, saving British holidaymakers from an ordeal that many feared would trigger chaos at airports and border checkpoints. Each time visitors try to cross into the continent, they will have to show a facial image and provide four fingerprints under the EES File image of queues at the Port of Dover - one of the locations where the new border checks will be in place - on August 26, 2023 A sign alerts travellers arriving at the Port of Dover on the south-east coast of England on July 31, 2024, of the construction works underway to facilitate the new European Union Entry Exit System, due to open in late 2024 First agreed on in 2017, the automated system was set to replace manual passport stamping and automatically record visitors' date of entry and exit. But news of the scheme raised fears of queues and longer waiting times for people travelling to Europe on trains, ferries and planes, with Brussels ultimately forced to reconsider its original launch date last year amid warnings that border crossings would be snarled if the system launched too abruptly without the requisite infrastructure in place. People queue for Eurostar train services at St Pancras International station as they make their Easter getaway in London, Britain, 29 March 2024 Work is carried out on the installation of the new Entry/Exit System at the Port of Dover The travel industry in the UK has been quick to hail the pause as a chance to sidestep the border bottlenecks that many feared.