This afternoon I gave evidence to the European Scutiny Committee on behalf of ABTA members, alongside Phil Smith from Confederation of Passenger Transport, on the introduction of the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) and Electronic Travel Information & Authorisation System (ETIAS).
The session particularly focused on the impact of EES on juxtaposed borders, at Dover, St Pancras and Folkestone, but we also highlighted wider concerns with coming border changes, and the particular impacts on coach travel and the parts of the #UKtravel industry that rely on the sector, such as school travel operators.
We discussed the need for sufficient notice periods for implementation for carriers (across all modes), and the risk of disruption if solutions are not put in place to address serious logisitical and technological challenges. Solving these problems will require greater political focus and prioritisation than we’re currently witnessing and we’ll continue to work with industry partners to raise this up the agenda of policymakers at home and abroad.
ABTA will be submitting a written response to the inquiry underway, so if you’re a member, please do share your views with us. You can also submit directly.
For more info and to see the session: https://lnkd.in/ebct_4cq
The event also follows hot on the heels of a session at the SCHOOL TRAVEL FORUM LTD conference on Friday covering the same topics, alongside Phil again, as well as Emma Ward from Port of Dover. The message from that session was we need to raise political awareness of this issue. We’ll be working with partners on that over coming weeks and months. Watch this space.