Parents and passengers are venting their fury as coaches full of schoolchildren have been stuck in queues at Dover for more than 12 hours overnight as severe delays continue.
The port, which has declared a critical incident, said the hold-ups were "due to lengthy French border processes and sheer volume".
Additional coach bookings taken by ferry operators for Easter have impacted operations, a statement on the port's website said.
Fed-up holidaymakers and worried parents took to social media to criticise the delays this morning, as thousands try to travel through the port on Easter getaways and school ski trips.
And one frustrated coach driver, who has a party of 48 kids from Swansea waiting to board a ferry to get to Italy, said some of the children are being "physically sick" after not eating a substantial meal for over 15 hours.
Robert Kordula, who works for Barns Coaches, said he has not been updated by anyone about their current wait time for a ferry - despite being stuck at the port for in excess of 12 hours.
He added: "The only facilities the coaches and children had access to was a small petrol station, which due to the capacity of people couldn't cope.
"There wasn't enough food and the toilets ran out of toilet paper. We received no updates all night, but then at 6am this morning we were told to return to the cruise terminal and we have been there ever since.
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"It is now 10:15am, more than 12 hours since we arrived at the port and we have not had any updates and don't know when or if we will be able to get on a ferry any time soon.
"When we arrived back at the cruise terminal at 6am people handed out KitKats, crisps and bottles of water which was very good.
"But the kids are not doing very well. Some of them are being physically sick as they have not had a substantial meal for around 15 hours due to the journey down here on top of the wait time.
Meanwhile, one concerned mum tweeted to P&O Ferries: "My son and his school are now over 12h late departing and they have a 12h drive ahead of them.
"Surely there is a better system that could be implemented by the French border control? What happens when they return or is the same problem happening in France too?"
Another parent wrote: "My son and his school have had almost 11 hours wait and still not at passport control yet. Then a 14 hour drive to Austria when they do get to France.
"More information is needed about how you propose to get things moving now. Your updates are good for nothing."
And a third added: "My daughter arrived for the 17:25 crossing yesterday (although got to the port at around 16:00) and got on a ferry at 6:30 today."
Another social media user questioned: "Why are you delaying coaches full of children for hours and hours???"
Others feared missing their ferry completely, saying: "What about people coming by car - we’ve been waiting for a while and it looks like we are going to miss our ferry due to the long queue at border control."
Another passenger posted: "We've been here 5 1/2 hours and no prospect of moving. So frustrating and clearly a foreseeable situation. You knew how many you were expecting!"
Some expressed concerns over a lack of provisions, writing: "Children & staff waiting without use of facilities is not acceptable!"
A second tweeted: "Not acceptable! The holidays are never a surprise. And yet you have coaches of school kids stuck - portaloos and no drinks or food supplied."
P&O Ferries apologised for the wait times for coaches sailing from Dover, while DFDS said it is expecting a busy weekend and advised passengers to allow extra time to complete border and check-in controls.
A statement from the port said: "The Port of Dover is deeply frustrated by last night's and this morning's situation and particularly so on behalf of all the ferry operators' coach passengers who have had to endure such a long wait at the port.
"Whilst freight and car traffic was processed steadily regardless of the additional challenging weather conditions and high seasonal volumes, coach traffic suffered significant delays due to lengthy French border processes and sheer volume.
"Despite considerable pre-planning with our ferry operators, border agency partners and the Kent Resilience Forum, and the success of similar plans for processing substantial numbers of coaches during the most recent half-term period, the additional coach bookings taken by ferry operators for Easter has impacted operations for the port."
The port said food and drink has been provided to coach passengers in the queues, adding: "We offer our sincere apologies for the prolonged delays that people have endured and continue to work with all of our partners to get all passengers on their way as quickly as possible."
Just before 9am, a spokesman for the port said: "Coach waiting time is still several hours, but tourist cars are getting through OK."
DFDS announced on Twitter just after 9pm on Friday that the wait time for coaches was approximately seven hours from arrival at the port.
It comes after Brittany Ferries passengers returning from France reported "nightmare" cancellations this week due to strikes.
Linda Osborn told the Mirror: "We were trying to return to Portsmouth this week but it was a nightmare due to French industrial action.
"We had to drive back by car in the dark at 2am in the morning 350 miles to be sent to another port St Malo or wait 3 days for our booked crossing at port of Caen. Still getting over it.
"Friends had flight problems this week flying back up over French air space traffic controls created big delays. It can ruin your holiday big time."
Meanwhile, last year, the Port of Dover's CEO warned it could face "significant and continued disruption for a very long time" after Brexit.
Doug Bannister told MPs that he had been invited to Calais, France to view tests for the European Union's incoming Entry/Exit System (EES).
He said the port has not been given any details of the scheme's rules but expressed concern it could cause "significant and continued disruption for a very long time" following its planned introduction in May 2023.
It is expected to involve travellers from non-EU countries, such the UK, having their fingerprints scanned and a photograph taken to register them onto a database the first time they enter a member state.
The system is a key part of the UK's post-Brexit relationship with the EU, and will determine how smoothly travel to the bloc will be in the future.
But over the past year, there have been huge queues snaking miles out of Dover, despite many Tory MPs such as Jacob Rees-Mogg insisting there would be no issues at the port if the UK voted to leave.
“We will maintain a free-flowing border at Dover," he said during the campaign. "The delays will not be at Dover, they will be at Calais."
