There will be increased transaction times at the border due to extra checks needed since Brexit, the chief executive of the Port of Dover has said, as Tory leadership hopeful Liz Truss called on France to act over “entirely avoidable” delays.
Doug Bannister said the country is in a “post-Brexit environment” and that means that extra checks need to be made and “capable people” to man the booths at Dover.
Meanwhile, the foreign secretary said the delays and queues were “unacceptable”, blaming a lack of staffing by the French at the border.
It comes after travellers got stuck in queues for up to six hours in the Port of Dover on Friday at the start of the summer school holidays – which led to the port declaring a “critical incident”.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: “As the schools closed their doors fully yesterday, Saturday could prove busier still this weekend.
“Drivers should continue to expect disruption and delays on major holiday routes to the south-west, eastern coast and ports of Dover and Folkestone.
“While many have decided to go at the start of the summer holidays, between now and the beginning of September when schools return, each Friday and Saturday will be busy on our roads because these are the main switchover days for holiday lets.”
Simon Calder in Dover: Busiest day since 2019 begins with go-slow
Holidaymakers hoping to sail over from Dover to France on the busiest day since 2019 are facing queues for French border control of between one and two hours – after they make it into the port.
Doug Bannister, chief executive of the Port of Dover, told The Independent: “We are still trying to clear the significant backlog that arose from yesterday’s challenges.”
As the big weekend rush began on Friday, the port warned that holidays could be ruined because of “woefully inadequate” staffing by French border officials, the Police aux Frontières. The authorty declared a “‘critical incident”.
Simon Calder in Dover: Busiest day since 2019 begins with go-slow
Exclusive: ‘I’m so terribly sorry for all the travellers caught up in the severe disruption yesterday’ – Doug Bannister, CEO, Port of Dover
Joe Middleton23 July 2022 10:46
P&O Ferries urges passengers to allow five hours for travel
Ferry operator P&O Ferries told passengers to allow at least five hours to clear the approach roads and security checks.
The ferry company said on Friday…
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