Dover

”The Port is working to do all it can with ferry operators and local partners to assist with clearing the queues caused by inadequate French border capacity.

Natalie Elphicke, Conservative MP for Dover, has said of today’s chaos at the port: “It was absolutely always known it was going to be a peak period. Resource at the French border has increased this morning and traffic is slowly beginning to move, but it will take some time to clear the backlog,” reads its statement posted to Twitter. “Our message today is not that we want to profit from misfortune. Resource at the French border has increased this morning and traffic is slowly beginning to move, but it will take some time to clear the backlog,” reads its statement posted to Twitter. They didn’t turn up for the job. Doug Bannister told Sky News: “We should not be in this position. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. “However severe delays remain in both directions. “The Port urges the UK government to continue working with French counterparts in order to ensure this is the case.” It advises passengers to arrive at the port with “water, food and supplies” and check with their ferry operator for the latest status of the delays. The Port of Dover has released an update saying that traffic is now moving, but that there is a “backlog” that will take some time to clear. Pure Brexit took effect at 11pm, British time, on 31 December 2020.

Kent port apologises for delays and blames French border control as summer getaway kicks off.

The Kent Resilience Forum, a partnership of agencies and organisations, told locals they needed to be prepared for journeys to take longer than normal. “We know that resource is finite, but the popularity of Dover is not a surprise. John Till, a railway manager from west Dorset, was worried about being stuck in a tailback for hours with his 87-year-old mother, Edna Johnson, on the way to visit friends in Germany.

The Port of Dover has accused the French authorities of ruining the summer getaway for thousands of families. | ITV News Meridian.

There was much work with French counterparts too. Motorists are advised to avoid the area if at all possible, with the roads in and around Dover already very busy due to delays at the port. Natalie Elphicke, the MP for Dover and Deal said: "This is not the start to a Summer break that anyone would have wanted to see with families and lorries stuck for hours in traffic trying to get on a ferry at Dover and severe traffic jams across our area. "The Port urges the UK government to continue working with French counterparts in order to ensure this is the case.” "I couldn't run the risk of being stuck in a queue for four hours with no toilets and the horrendous drive the other side, so at half four this morning I made the snap decision to rebook travel with Brittany Ferries and travel from the Port of Poole, which is a lot more expensive." Mr Till said he had "no other choice" than to make the £400 change because the trip had been in the works for a "very long time" and there was "no way I was going to let my mum down".

olidaymakers are facing long queues into the Port of Dover amid a “critical incident” on Friday while fuel price protests threaten to disrupt travel for ...

Passengers are also asked to avoid trying back routes to reach the port as that makes the situation worse, particularly for local residents. Drivers should also keep track of congestion via the AA app and stay in touch with their travel firm to stay up to date on any advice being issued.” “This is what happens when you have a Government with no plan and out of ideas about how to fix the country’s problems. The Port of Dover has urged the UK Government to “continue working with French counterparts” to “adequately resource the border” throughout the summer to “keep our community clear, to get families on their holidays and to keep essential trade moving”. The AA has told drivers to be “prepared for delays long before they reach the terminal” at the Port of Dover. P&O Ferries has told passengers to allow “at least six hours” to clear all security checks while some lorry drivers have said it is “the worst” disruption they have ever experienced at the port.

A 'critical incident' has been declared by the Kent port due to six-hour queues, with tourists urged to consider staying away.

Zero movement.” Another said they have been “waiting five hours and still not in the port”, adding: “Sat in lanes waiting to get to border control. Ms Elphicke said there has been “weeks of preparation” for this week by the Port, the Department for Transport and Kent Resilience Forum, and “much work with French counterparts too”. He said it will be “a very difficult day” and the situation has been “escalated to the highest levels in our government”. The port said in a statement that it has increased the number of border control booths by 50% and shared traffic volume forecasts “in granular detail” with the French authorities. The Port of Dover has attacked the French authorities for “woefully inadequate” border control staffing which is ruining the summer getaway for thousands of families.

Port of Dover boss Doug Bannister has declared a 'critical incident' with staffing at French border control branded 'woefully inadequate' by the Kent port.

to prepare for the busy summer”. It took them 12 hours to clear Dover. I hope we are less.” So we don’t want to get stuck in that on the way. It has got progressively worse since 2016, but this is the worst it has been by a country mile. “Google Maps sent lots of cars on back routes, which jammed up all the side routes. And this is the worst it has ever been. I tried to go down towards one of the back ways and it was just impossible. It must be horrific to live here at this time of year.” “I had to ring in work and cancel all my patients. “Of course, everybody’s asleep and didn’t see them. He told Sky News: “The cause of it is French immigration controls. She added: “Thankfully we’d left ourselves a lot of time.

Britons headed for continental Europe via the port of Dover were caught up in long queues amid staffing shortages, just as the end of the school year ...

Holidaymakers and people travelling to visit family have found themselves stuck in six-hour queues to board ferries.

But he clung on to one silver lining: “At least it’s not still 40C.” He had only received a text message warning of the delays two hours earlier – long after he had departed at 7am and close to the original departure time of 11am. “It’s not fun,” said 12-year-old Sara. Zeger said the family had received a message suggesting they arrive four hours in advance of their sailing. He was anticipating a full day’s travel before reaching his destination. “This is the worst it’s ever been.

A critical incident was called at Dover Port with bosses claiming they had been 'let down' by border controls.

It was not until 9:45am that the booths were fully operational.’ A serious collision on the M20 that takes passengers to both Folkestone for the Eurotunnel and Dover to the port was closed for a portion of Friday afternoon because of a serious collision. It had absolutely nothing to do with problems at the Port of Dover.’ But EuroTunnel responded by saying the incident had absolutely nothing to do with a malfunction on its end. ‘However an unforeseeable technical incident in the tunnel meant that police had to push back their full deployment by an hour. ‘Based on a close analysis of predicted traffic, the plan was to have all the police booths manned (at Dover) by 8:30am.

Authorities have said the Port of Dover is doing “all it can” alongside ferry operators and other partners to help clearing the hour-long queues “caused.

“Making sure you have enough fuel in the tank as well as plenty of water and snacks will be key in trying to manage the jams,” said AA’s head of roads policy Jack Cousens. “We have a motorhome so we could go to the toilet, we could drink something, so it wasn’t that bad for us,” Steffan Harberecht told PA. “Resource at the French border has increased this morning and traffic is slowly beginning to move, but it will take some time to clear the backlog,” read a statement issued by the port.

A French MP has blamed Brexit as travellers using the Port of Dover face hours of queues.

"The critical incident in Dover started overnight," said Eurotunnel in a statement. You can also get in touch in the following ways: The Port of Dover said it was doing all it could with ferry operators and local partners to assist with clearing the queues. Mr Dumont also said the Port of Dover was "too small" and there were too few kiosks due to lack of space. "It was categorically not the reason for the difficulties at the Port of Dover." The Port of Dover declared a "critical incident" on Friday due to queues leading to the ferry terminal.

The port declared a “critical incident” on Friday after French border police provided what Dover said was a “woefully inadequate” number of passport control ...

Chief executive of the Port of Dover Doug Bannister pledged that officials are doing all they can to address issues.

The port said resources at the French border increased on Friday morning and traffic was slowly beginning to move, but that it would “take some time to clear the backlog”. The Port of Dover attacked French authorities for “woefully inadequate” border control staffing, and local MP Natalie Elphicke claimed French border officers “didn’t turn up for work”. The chief executive of the Port of Dover, Doug Bannister, said being “let down” by poor resourcing at the French border was “immensely frustrating”.

Border chaos at Dover could prove even worse in the coming months as the Government prepares to enact a new post-Brexit checks system.

It just doesn’t not exist.” “It doesn’t work here… The Home Office organised meetings with officials at the Port of Dover in June to further discuss the changes and the effect they could have, in advance of further discussions with the French interior ministry.

UK foreign secretary says French understaffing at border to blame but Calais MP says more checks needed after Brexit.

It takes relatively little for backlogs to pile up and clearly this has become really significant. It’s certainly the case that the checks are more rigorous than they used to be. The port of Dover and Calais is juxtaposed so the UK control is in Calais, and you go through that as you leave France, and the French control is in the UK and Dover, and you go through the French control as you leave England. Dumont also said the Port of Dover was “too small” and that there were too few kiosks due to lack of space. For a second day running, people hoping to travel through Kent to France are facing huge queues and hours of delays as a row over who is responsible for the gridlock at the port of Dover grows. We need action from France to build up capacity at the border, to limit any further disruption for British tourists and to ensure this appalling situation is avoided in future. On Friday – one of the busiest periods for foreign travel from the UK as most schools in England and Wales break up for summer – people queued in cars for more than six hours to pass through border control. Prior to Brexit, there was a deemed right of entry. Dumont also said the Port of Dover was “too small” and that there were too few kiosks due to lack of space. For a second day running, people hoping to travel through Kent to France are facing huge queues and hours of delays as a row over who is responsible for the gridlock at the port of Dover grows. We need action from France to build up capacity at the border, to limit any further disruption for British tourists and to ensure this appalling situation is avoided in future. On Friday – one of the busiest periods for foreign travel from the UK as most schools in England and Wales break up for summer – people queued in cars for more than six hours to pass through border control.

Long queues are expected again today as Foreign Secretary Liz Truss attacks French authorities over 'unacceptable' delays at border control.

Traffic has already been building up throughout the town, and there’s going to be a very serious situation on the roads again in Kent today.” We will be working with the French authorities to find a solution.” “And a pregnant lady,” Ms Griffin added. I speak to the Port of Dover here on the ground and they were very clear throughout the day yesterday that that wasn’t the case. Ms Elphicke told Sky News: “Eurotunnel said that was not the case. We were expecting that today was going to be a busier day than yesterday.

Asked whether he can reassure travellers planning a trip over the coming days that the backlog will ease, Port of Dover boss Doug Bannister said: 'I really ...

Ms Elphicke said there had been “weeks of preparation” for this week by the port, the Department for Transport and Kent Resilience Forum, and “much work with French counterparts too”. He said Saturday is also likely to be busy, adding it is “just the start of a very busy summer for us”. The port said resources at the French border increased on Friday morning and traffic was slowly beginning to move, “but it will take some time to clear the backlog”. “We’ve shared in granular detail, on an hour-by-hour basis, the amount of traffic we were anticipating, so it was completely known what we needed to have in place at the French border.” The chief executive of the Port of Dover said being “let down” by poor resourcing at the French border was “immensely frustrating”. The Port of Dover attacked French authorities for “woefully inadequate” border control staffing, and local MP Natalie Elphicke claimed French border officers “didn’t turn up for work”.

Anyone hoping to leave the Port of Dover today has been warned to expect even worse delays than the travel chaos seen on Friday.

It said the French authorities are cooperating closely with their British counterparts and all stakeholders responsible for the traffic in the Port of Dover ‘to enable travellers to make their crossings under the best possible conditions’. On Friday evening, the French Embassy in the UK said French border checks in Dover are ‘operating in full capacity’. Mr Dumont also said the Port of Dover is ‘too small’ and there are too few kiosks due to lack of space. He said Saturday is also likely to be busy, adding it is ‘just the start of a very busy summer for us’. The Port of Dover has also attacked French authorities for ‘woefully inadequate’ border control staffing. The warnings come as French and British officials continue to argue over who is to blame for the chaos, which has coincided with the start of the school summer holidays, one of the busiest periods for foreign travel from the UK.