Thousands of families have seen what was supposed to be a relaxing day on the road turn into a disaster. Travellers, who were accompanied by their children, reported to British media that they had to stay in traffic jams leading to the ferry terminal for 5 to 6 hours.

National Highways had announced that the weekend was expected to be one of the busiest of the year due to the numerous holidaymakers, with an estimated 18.8 million leisure trips which were planned across the UK between Friday and Monday. 

Yet only 6 of the 12 passport booths run by the French authorities at Dover were open at the peak of the traffic complications. According to the BBC, the French authorities have been contacted for comment.

A spokesman of the UK government announced they were „working closely with French authorities, the Port of Dover, Kent Resilience Forum, and police to ease the disruption and provide on-the-ground support.„

The leader of Dover District Council, Trevor Bartlett, told the media that „alongside the delays for tens of thousands of tourists, the local community is the biggest loser.”

“Residents can’t get to work, children are stranded on school buses stuck in the mayhem, and businesses are suffering” – he added. 

„The port is working to do all it can with ferry operators and local partners to assist with clearing the queues caused by inadequate French border capacity. […] „We urge French colleagues to resource the border adequately, not just to relieve the current situation, but for the rest of the weekend and indeed the rest of the summer to keep our community clear, to get families on their holidays and to keep essential trade moving” – the Port of Dover said in an official statement, as quoted by the BBC. 

Fortunately, after long hours of chaos around the Port of Dover, traffic has slowly started to move. Nevertheless, the port warned that it would „take some time to clear the backlog.”

Image: YouTube (The Sun/Screenshot)

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen