Dover port delays: Long queues as ferry waits reach 12 hours

A critical incident was declared overnight on Friday and operators P&O Ferries and DFDS Seaways reported delays to ferry and coach services, citing bad weather and hold-ups at French border controls as partly responsible.

In a statement on Saturday morning, the port blamed the delays on “lengthy French border processes and sheer volume” of people travelling.

Our travel correspondent Simon Calder told BBC Breakfast about some of the reasons behind the long delays at Dover this morning.

Watch the full clip here:

Simon Lyons, who has been stuck on a coach waiting to travel to Amsterdam with his son’s football team, said they had been told they were 48th in the queue to board the ferry – but still faced up to eight hours of waiting to reach France.

“The current ferries aren’t departing though because there’s so much traffic in the area they can’t get people into the terminal itself,” he told Sky News. “The staff here are being very friendly and helpful, but what they’re telling us is that there is a real lack of French border staff trying to get people checked and into the terminal.”

However, staff were “entirely” blaming Brexit, he added, given that coaches can no longer merely be “waved on” to the ferry.

There is “no movement whatsoever” on the roads around the port, with traffic “just back to back”, Mr Lyons said, calling the situation “a real disaster”.

Travelers also aired their frustrations on Twitter, saying the delays had put a damper on the start of the Easter break.

One person said she has been stuck in a queue for 18 hours and counting, while another criticized P&O Ferries for a lack of support.

The Port of Dover twitter account has posted an update, saying the times are now improving and delays are between 60-120 minutes.

Simon Calder, also known as The Man Who Pays His Way, has been writing about travel for The Independent since 1994. In his weekly opinion column, he explores a key travel issue – and what it means for you.

When it’s the start of the easter holidays and you’re a transport hub and you’re trending on Twitter, you know things are not going well.

Thousands of coach passengers endured a miserable wait, many of them through the night. Factors as diverse as stormy weather and the French were blamed for preventing travelers from getting away on much-needed holidays.

Here is what our travel correspondent Simon Calder has to say on the 12-hour-long traffic at Dover this morning.

Our travel correspondent Simon Calder has said Brexit is to blame for the coach delays at Dover and says it’s going to get “worse”.

Watch the full clip of his interview with LBC:

Sir Keir Starmer urged the Government to “get a grip” of the situation at Dover.

“I really feel for people trying to get through Dover. There will have been families who have booked holidays and now they are frustrated yet again and I think the nature of the frustration will be ‘not again’.

“This is not the first time there have been problems at Dover.

“The Government needs to get a grip of this.

“You can’t have every summer holiday, every Easter holiday, the same old problem.

“And so the Government needs to get a grip on this and actually help people out in who are just trying to get away for a few days holiday.”

… to our live blog where we keep you updated with the latest from the Port of Dover traffic delays. Stay tuned!