The Port of Dover has declared a “critical incident” as queues of six hours threaten to ruin the start of the summer holidays for thousands of families. In one of the busiest periods for foreign travel from the UK, tourists are finding themselves stuck in gridlocked traffic as they attempt to embark on cross-Channel sailings.
Yesterday, queues of up to three hours were reported by several ferry companies operating at the Port. This has now doubled, with tourists urged to consider staying away.
Ferry operator P&O Ferries told passengers: “Please be aware that there is heavy traffic at border control in the port of Dover. If you are booked to travel today please allow at least six hours to clear all security checks.”
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The Kent port has attacked French authorities for letting them down with “woefully inadequate” border control staffing, adding it will be a “very difficult day” at the port. Passengers sailing from Dover must pass through French border checks before they can board a ferry.
In a statement, the port said it has increased the number of border control booths by 50 per cent due to post-Brexit and Covid checks, and shared traffic volume forecasts “in granular detail” with the French authorities. It said: “Regrettably, the PAF (police aux frontieres) resource has been insufficient and has fallen far short of what is required to ensure a smooth first weekend of the peak summer getaway period.”
Speaking to BBC Radio Kent, port chief executive Doug Bannister said: “We’ve got a critical incident under way. We’ve been badly let down this morning by the French border. Insufficient resources and much slower than normal transactions, which is leading to significant congestion around the port this morning.”
He said the situation has been “escalated to the highest levels in our government" and urged passengers to "consider holding off heading for the port at this point in time until more is known.”
Vehicles including HGVs and camper vans are queuing through Dover town centre to reach the port, as police officers control the traffic flow around local roads and ensure roundabouts are clear.
One Twitter user wrote shortly before 7am: “I’m booked onto 8am ferry from Dover and it’s total gridlock. Moved 50 metres per hour. At this rate it’ll be 34 hours before I get to the port! I have a screaming toddler and three-month-old.”
Another said they have been “waiting five hours and still not in the port,” adding they were sat in lanes of traffic and not moving.
Meanwhile, fuel price protests are set to cause disruption during what is expected to be the busiest summer getaway on the roads in at least eight years. Avon and Somerset Police warned motorists that “slow-moving roadblocks” are planned on parts of the M4, M5, M32 and A38 on Friday morning.
An image posted on the private Facebook group Fuel Price Stand Against Tax suggests demonstrations will be held “nationwide,” including in Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, London and Manchester. Superintendent Tony Blatchford urged drivers to consider “alternative travel plans” due to the protests.
He said: “Our protest liaison team has been engaging with the organiser so we can inform the public of the likely disruption and help to minimise it. Nevertheless, drivers can expect journey times will likely be longer than normal, especially on motorways, which often tend to be at their busiest at this time of year.
“We advise motorists to consider any alternative travel plans available and ensure they are suitably prepared in case they are delayed.”
There have been several high-profile protests against the rising cost of fuel and use of oil in recent months. Several members of protest group Just Stop Oil invaded the track during the British Grand Prix on July 3, while 12 fuel price protesters were arrested for causing disruption on the M4 the following day.
As of Thursday, July 21, the average price of petrol is 187.5p per litre – while diesel stands at 196.3p, according to confused.com.
Transport analytics company Inrix believes the M25 – London’s orbital motorway – could see some of the worst jams due to the summer getaway, singling out the stretches between Bromley and the Dartford Crossing; Maple Cross and the M3; and the M23 to the M40.
The A303 near Stonehenge in Wiltshire, the M4 between Cardiff and Newport in South Wales, and the M5 south of Bristol are also likely to see queuing traffic.
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