Cross-Channel traffic: complicated situation at the port of Dover

The situation remains complicated on Sunday at the port of Dover (south) where many coach passengers wait long hours to pass border controls and board a ferry for France

Cross-Channel traffic: complicated situation at the port of Dover

The situation remains complicated on Sunday at the port of Dover (south) where many coach passengers wait long hours to pass border controls and board a ferry for France.

Since Friday hundreds of people traveling by coach, especially young people on a school trip at the start of the Easter holidays, have had to wait sometimes more than 12 hours before getting on a boat, and long queues have formed. near the port.

"The situation is improving," Interior Minister Suella Braverman told Sky News on Sunday morning. "We apologize for the wait times this (Sunday) morning. The current wait at the entrance to the Port of Dover is approximately 4-5 hours," the Port of Dover warned in a post early Sunday. on Twitter.

The ferry company DFDS reports a "6-hour wait" for buses before they can pass border controls.

In this period of mass departure on vacation for many Britons, the port of Dover experienced a greater influx than anticipated from Friday while at the same time the weather conditions complicated boarding the ferries.

Up to 400 coaches were blocked according to the Port of Dover and the disruption continued throughout the day on Saturday.

The port and several British ferry companies have also highlighted the length of checks by French border police, who since Brexit must check the passports of all passengers.

Many passengers expressed their anger on social media and in the British media.

"My son has been sitting in a bus since 6:30 p.m. yesterday (Saturday) and they still haven't boarded!" Chet, for example, protested on Twitter.

Rosie Paearson, traveling with her husband and two sons, had to wait 16 hours before boarding. "It was a real mess," she told the PA news agency. "Nobody told us anything during the 16 hours," she added.

Road traffic at the port of Dover had been problematic at the end of July when the British went on vacation.

The British government had blamed France and its insufficient manpower at the border, which Paris had denied. On the French side, they pointed to the role of Brexit, and the longer checks that result from it.

02/04/2023 10:44:51 - London (AFP) - © 2023 AFP