Queues of as much as two hours at Dover as travellers begin summer season getaways

Jul 07, 2023 at 9:18 PM
Queues of as much as two hours at Dover as travellers begin summer season getaways

Holidaymakers and freight drivers are dealing with frustration on the Port of Dover, with queues taking hours to clear.

Checks by French border guards are taking as much as 90 minutes to course of automobile passengers, and round two hours for these in lorries, the Kent port has introduced.

In a message to ready passengers, the port mentioned: “Today is already proving a popular travel day at Dover, and the port is busy processing strong volumes of tourist traffic.

“Teams from the port, Police aux Frontieres and our ferry operators are working to get you thru as swiftly as potential.”

Vehicles queue for ferries at the Port of Dover, Kent, where passengers are facing up to a two-hour wait for checks by French border officials due to a high volume of tourist traffic beginning the summer getaway early and heavy freight traffic. Picture date: Friday July 7, 2023.
Travellers queue for ferries at the Port of Dover, Kent, where passengers are facing up to a two-hour wait for checks by French border officials due to a high volume of tourist traffic beginning the summer getaway early and heavy freight traffic. Picture date: Friday July 7, 2023.

Earlier within the 12 months at Easter, some passengers on coaches had been left waiting up to 10 hours to be processed as they waited to board ferries.

Delays on the port have partly been blamed on Brexit, and the French border officers having to hold out further checks and stamp UK passports earlier than they will board the ferries.

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The Dover Traffic Assessment Project (TAP) – a brief scheme put in place at busy occasions to forestall the city from turning into backed-up with site visitors – has been activated for the day.

The scheme requires HGV drivers to stay within the left hand lane of the highway resulting in the port, which means native site visitors can movement by the opposite lane.

DFDS, a serious ferry operator between Dover and Calais, mentioned passengers who miss their ferry because of the delays shall be booked on to the subsequent out there journey.