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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/01/dover-port-officials-deeply-frustrated-with-coach-delays
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| Severe delays at Dover leave school coaches waiting for hours | Severe delays at Dover leave school coaches waiting for hours |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| ‘Deeply frustrated’ port officials blame critical incident on extra Easter ferry bookings for coaches and French border processes | |
| School coaches have faced hours-long waits during severe delays in Dover at the start of the Easter holiday period. | School coaches have faced hours-long waits during severe delays in Dover at the start of the Easter holiday period. |
| The Port of Dover, which declared a critical incident on Friday, said it was “deeply frustrated” at the delays, which it attributed to “lengthy French border processes and sheer volume”. | The Port of Dover, which declared a critical incident on Friday, said it was “deeply frustrated” at the delays, which it attributed to “lengthy French border processes and sheer volume”. |
| Students on school and university trips were among those affected. One parent said on social media that their children’s school party arrived at Dover at 10.30am on Friday and did not make it to passport control until 10pm. | |
| Not P&O or Dover ports. My kids school have been there since 10:30 and got through passport control at 22:00. No food or drink since Birchanger Services at 07:30. | Not P&O or Dover ports. My kids school have been there since 10:30 and got through passport control at 22:00. No food or drink since Birchanger Services at 07:30. |
| Another parent said her daughter had been delayed for 12 hours. | Another parent said her daughter had been delayed for 12 hours. |
| Poor kids! My daughter was stuck for 12 hours but now made it to France. My nephew hasn’t even got to border control and he was only hours behind my daughter. It’s horrendous. If they were stuck like this on motorways people would be out helping them. They don’t have supplies. | Poor kids! My daughter was stuck for 12 hours but now made it to France. My nephew hasn’t even got to border control and he was only hours behind my daughter. It’s horrendous. If they were stuck like this on motorways people would be out helping them. They don’t have supplies. |
| Oliver Quigley-Brown, who was travelling to France for a university ski trip, told the BBC he had been warned of a 14-hour delay, and estimated there could be “thousands” of people from school and university groups stuck in Dover. | |
| He said the authorities had provided them with snacks and water, but added: “I don’t think they’d anticipated the kind of delays we’re seeing.” | He said the authorities had provided them with snacks and water, but added: “I don’t think they’d anticipated the kind of delays we’re seeing.” |
| The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, called on the government to “get a grip” of the situation. | |
| He said: “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.’ | He said: “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. | “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 … who are just trying to get away for a few days holiday.” | “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 … who are just trying to get away for a few days holiday.” |
| In a statement posted on the port’s website on Saturday morning, it said extra coach bookings taken by ferry operators for Easter had affected operations. | In a statement posted on the port’s website on Saturday morning, it said extra coach bookings taken by ferry operators for Easter had affected operations. |
| P&O Ferries apologised for the waiting times for coaches travelling from Dover, while DFDS said it was expecting a busy weekend and advised passengers to allow extra time to complete border and check-in procedures. | P&O Ferries apologised for the waiting times for coaches travelling from Dover, while DFDS said it was expecting a busy weekend and advised passengers to allow extra time to complete border and check-in procedures. |
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| DOVER-FRANCE-DOVER | Services are operating with delays of up to 2.5 hours due to the winds in the channel, please check-in as normal. Apologies for any inconvenience caused. #dfdshelp | |
| In a statement, the port said: “The Port of Dover is deeply frustrated by last night’s and this morning’s situation and particularly so on behalf of all the ferry operators’ coach passengers who have had to endure such a long wait at the port. | |
| “Whilst freight and car traffic was processed steadily regardless of the additional challenging weather conditions and high seasonal volumes, coach traffic suffered significant delays due to lengthy French border processes and sheer volume. | “Whilst freight and car traffic was processed steadily regardless of the additional challenging weather conditions and high seasonal volumes, coach traffic suffered significant delays due to lengthy French border processes and sheer volume. |
| “Despite considerable pre-planning with our ferry operators, border agency partners and the Kent resilience forum, and the success of similar plans for processing substantial numbers of coaches during the most recent half-term period, the additional coach bookings taken by ferry operators for Easter have impacted operations for the port.” | “Despite considerable pre-planning with our ferry operators, border agency partners and the Kent resilience forum, and the success of similar plans for processing substantial numbers of coaches during the most recent half-term period, the additional coach bookings taken by ferry operators for Easter have impacted operations for the port.” |
| #PODOVER - We apologise for the wait times in Dover for coaches. As we have no control over the processes at border control we cannot confirm how long it will take to pass through. Once the coaches are at the P&O check in they will be on the next crossing to Calais | #PODOVER - We apologise for the wait times in Dover for coaches. As we have no control over the processes at border control we cannot confirm how long it will take to pass through. Once the coaches are at the P&O check in they will be on the next crossing to Calais |
| It added: “We offer our sincere apologies for the prolonged delays that people have endured and continue to work with all of our partners to get all passengers on their way as quickly as possible.” | It added: “We offer our sincere apologies for the prolonged delays that people have endured and continue to work with all of our partners to get all passengers on their way as quickly as possible.” |
| The port did not say how long it expected wait times to be on Saturday. | The port did not say how long it expected wait times to be on Saturday. |
| DFDS said on Twitter on Friday night that the wait time for coaches was about seven hours from arrival at the port, and blamed the delays on bad weather and high volumes of traffic, particularly coach groups. On Saturday it said delays were down to two to three hours. | |