Liverpool FC supporters travelling to the Champions League final and families embarking on half-term getaways face long queues at the Port of Dover (Gareth Fuller/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)Britons heading away for half-term and the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend were stuck in three hour-long queues to board Channel ferries on Friday.
Liverpool FC supporters travelling to the Champions League final became gridlocked alongside families embarking on half-term getaways at the Port of Dover.
Thousands of fans claimed to have “taken over” the Kent port with some playing football in the hard shoulder as they waited to board ferries en route to Paris for Saturday’s match.
Liam Devlin, who was among those queuing in the port, wrote on Twitter: “Absolute chaos at the Port of Dover.
“Taking around three hours to get through to the gates to even board any ferry, double the amount of time they advise.
“No organisation whatsoever. Shambles.”
Suleman Qureshi posted: “The queues at dover are ridiculous as expected. The reds have taken over!”
Another fan wrote: “Three hours in a queue at Dover after driving down on no sleep is comparable to the pain of childbirth. Glad we’re a day early.”
There is also high demand for sailings from families embarking on trips to the continent for half-term.
The port advised passengers to “pack adequate supplies including food and water” as it is expecting “a very busy week ahead”.
Ferry firm Irish Ferries warned customers to “expect delays of up to three hours at port security and check-in”.
P&O Ferries wrote that traffic on Jubilee Way, a key road used to access the port, is “at a standstill” and there are “also queues on the A20 on the approach to Dover”.
It added: “Traffic is expected to remain heavy today.”
Passengers who miss their sailing will be allowed to travel on the next available service.
Another operator, DFDS, wrote on Twitter: “We are aware of our lovely customers queuing in the port. We’ll accommodate you on the next available departure.”
Liverpool John Lennon Airport was also busy with supporters flying to Paris.
There are scheduled to be 24 flights from the airport to the French capital this week with capacity for a total of 4,674 passengers, according to aviation data firm Cirium.
Saturday will be the busiest day, with 11 flights.
Just two flights operated from Liverpool to Paris last week.
Meanwhile, the RAC issued a warning over congestion on motorways and major A roads as an estimated 17.9 million leisure trips by road will be made between Friday and Sunday, with Saturday the busiest day.
Spokesman Rod Dennis urged motorists to get an early start and to carry out pre-journey checks such as oil and coolant levels and tyre pressures to “cut the chances of becoming a breakdown statistic”.
