Channel ferries suffer five-hour border delays at Dover Port

Britons headed for continental Europe via the port of Dover were caught up in long queues amid staffing shortages, just as the end of the school year unleashes a travel exodus.

P&O Ferries Ltd. warned of delays lasting four or five hours on the British side of the English Channel crossing, while assuring passengers that they would be put on the next boat if they miss their booked sailing. Other operators cited similar delays.

Port of Dover Ltd. and the UK’s Department for Transport both blamed a shortage of French border control staff for the holdups at Europe’s busiest ferry port. 

In response, Georges-François Leclerc, state representative for the Haut-de-France region, said this weekend’s traffic increase had been expected and prepared for in conjunction with the Border Force and transport companies. However, “an unforeseeable technical incident” in the Channel Tunnel, which runs parallel to the ferry routes, had prevented staff from fully deploying Friday morning, he said. 

Summer Rush

The bottlenecks were accompanied by disruption on UK roads amid demonstrations over soaring fuel costs. Protesters formed a slow-moving convoy on the M5 motorway, according to Avon and Somerset Police. Similar actions were also planned in Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, London and Manchester.

With the last schools in England and Wales breaking up for the summer, travel networks are expected to be busier than usual this weekend as the high season for British vacations begins. That will keep up the pressure on under-staffed transport firms that have suffered breakdowns in recent weeks, even after emergency measures including a slashing of timetables at major airports. 

A fresh round of UK rail strikes is also set to begin on Wednesday, after the biggest walkouts in almost three decades brought the network to a near standstill in June.    

Dover said it increased the number of French border-control booths by 50% for the summer in response to increased checks on departing passengers after Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic. 

On Friday afternoon, the port authority said traffic was beginning to move better, though it will take time to clear the backlog of travelers from the earlier bottlenecks.

In more positive news for travelers, the GMB union confirmed that a planned strike among British Airways check-in staff at London Heathrow airport has been called off after workers voted to accept a new pay offer. Shares of BA owner IAG SA traded 3% higher as of 12:48 p.m.