The United Kingdom and France have agreed to strengthen border services amid fears of transport gridlock following the introduction of new biometric checks for entry into Schengen Area countries, The Guardian reports.

According to British authorities, with the start of the summer tourist season, queues at crossings over the English Channel could increase significantly. UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said that Paris had agreed to send more staff to border checkpoints to speed up the processing of controls.

London has also allocated £20 million to expand throughput capacity and reduce waiting times at the border.

The delays were caused by problems with the rollout of the European Entry/Exit System (EES), which requires the registration of fingerprints and photographs of travelers. According to Alexander, the biometric equipment is not yet operating at full capacity, so some passengers still have to be processed manually.

Officials at the Port of Dover warned that around 12,000 vehicles a day could pass through it this coming weekend — more than three times the usual level. In May, the launch of the new checks already led to delays of up to four and a half hours. British lawmakers had previously warned that without additional measures at the border, there could be “complete chaos and traffic jams stretching for miles.”