Children and teachers returning to the UK from half-term school trips have been hit by delays of more than six hours at Calais amid strike action by Border Force staff. Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union working at French ports began industrial action over pay on Friday, with strikes due to continue until Monday morning.
A number of schools reported issues returning from trips on Saturday as parents complained on social media that their children had been stuck at Calais for hours. Some said their children had been waiting to board a ferry as early as 8.30am, but were still on the French side by the afternoon.
Wellsway School in Bristol tweeted that students returning from a ski trip had missed their scheduled ferry from Calais due to the long queues for passport control, while Langley Park School for Girls in Bromley, south-east London, said they were making “very slow progress” at the port.
