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”.
As the day wore on, families heading for the Continent on holiday found themselves stuck in cars for many hours. Local residents struggled to make their way through the congestion that built up during the day.
One man, who lives adjacent to the port, said it had taken him over two hours to drive a few miles home from work on Friday evening.
Mr Bannister apologised to anyone stuck in traffic jams, saying: “I’m so terribly sorry for all the travellers, the truck drivers and our local communities that got caught up in the severe disruption yesterday.
“We still have ongoing challenges today on the roads – and that is really disappointing. We’ve been planning for the summer season for months.”
But Mr Bannister said that Saturday had begun better at the “juxtaposed” French border control on the UK side of the Channel.
“We’ve had a good complement of French immigration border officers turn up this morning. So the booths are manned. But we are still trying to clear the significant backlog that arose from yesterday’s challenges.
“We knew what the resourcing requirements were, we even installed more booths put in more capacity to make certain it could happen OK, and so we did feel we were let down.
“About 34,000 passengers transited outbound through the Port of Dover [on Friday]. That’s about 8,500 cars. We’re expecting a little over 10,000 cars today to go through.
“I’m very. very pleased and grateful – and relieved – that Police aux Frontières have provided appropriate resourcing for this morning.”
DFDS Ferries, which sails from Dover to Calais and Dunkirk, tweeted: “Please be aware of heavy traffic in and around the port of Dover.
“If travelling with us today, please allow a minimum of three hours before you departure time to complete all controls at the port. Rest assured, we will accommodate you onto the first available…
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