Frustrated drivers face lengthy queues for Dover ferries

Holidaymakers trying to travel through the very busy port of Dover have faced traffic delays and bottlenecks, bosses there said.

Long lines of vehicles were seen snaking back from the port to the seaside town yesterday, with authorities warning of wait times of at least 90 minutes for cars and coaches at the border checks.

But some ferry passengers said they had waited in traffic for hours at the port, missing their departure time.

Bob McKay, 36, from Faversham, Kent, said he was frustrated after spending several hours queueing.

Mr McKay was travelling as part of the Kent-based Caritas Chamber Choir, a musical group which specialises in acapella music and early choral pieces, to perform at the Cathedrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille in the city of Lille on Saturday.

“We drove down to Dover and arrived about 100 minutes before our sailing time… and we spent most of that time queueing through border control,” he said.

“Once we got through, we drove around to the actual ferry check-in and that was about a half-hour queue. You expect queues when it’s a busy time of year and during the holidays, that makes sense. But we felt frustrated given we booked a 10am ferry and now we’re having to wait for a 12pm one – it’s a long time in the car when we set off at 7.15am.

“I think the frustration has been that there has been very little communication about the amount of time queues are taking and the reasons for the delays.

“Then the response from the DFDS ferry company on Twitter was a bit lacking, I think. I know that don’t necessarily have all of the live information but I think when your real experiences are being challenged… that can be frustrating.”

The processing time at the border was 90 minutes yesterday morning which is the time expected for peak travel days, an update from the port authorities said. By yesterday afternoon, port bosses said the processing time was 20 minutes and that 14,898 people had set sail from the port so far that day.

All the positions for French border officials, Police Aux Frontieres, were open, it was understood.

Yesterday morning a Port of Dover spokesperson said: “The port is extremely busy due to high volumes of passengers arriving too early for their sailing, causing bottlenecks. Please also keep to main routes of the A2
and A20.”

The Kent port has been preparing for summer holiday getaway traffic, with measures put in place to minimise queues.

Bosses are urging car passengers embarking on summer getaways to arrive up to but not more than three hours before their booked sailing.

This is up from two hours last year, while before the end of the Brexit transition period the port gave no advice on arrival times.

Port bosses said anyone who misses their sailing will be put on the next available trip.

Expected car arrivals were expected to peak at more than 2,000 yesterday morning and nearly 3,000 on Saturday.

As of 9.25am yesterday, 1,836 cars had sailed from the port.