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| Port of Dover adds overnight sailings to help clear severe coach backlog | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| School holiday delays of up to 14 hours blamed on ‘French border processes and sheer volume’ | |
| Extra sailings are to run overnight at the Port of Dover to try to clear a backlog that left passengers stuck in Easter school-holiday traffic for hours on Saturday. | |
| A spokesperson for the port, which declared a critical incident on Friday, said it was hoping to clear the backlog by lunchtime on Sunday as some travellers said they had been held up for 14 hours. | |
| The port has said the delays were “due to lengthy French border processes and sheer volume”. | |
| P&O Ferries updated passengers on Saturday evening in a tweet stating: “We apologise for the wait times for coaches this weekend. We have put on additional sailings overnight to help clear the backlog of traffic.” | |
| The firm also stated that coaches at the terminal were still facing a wait time of up to seven-and-a-half hours. | |
| A spokesperson for the port said: “There is still the ongoing situation at the port but both DFDS and P&O are adding additional departures overnight. Vessels usually have a longer layover at night but they will be running back and forth to clear as much as they can. | |
| “At present, we anticipate the backlog [to be cleared] around lunchtime tomorrow but the extra sailings could well reduce that time.” | |
| It came after a day in which a port spokesperson said he was “deeply frustrated” as coach traffic faced “significant delays”. | |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. |
| Dafydd Francis, a PE teacher from Seven Sisters, Neath, was one of 33 people attempting to travel from south Wales to Saalbach-Hinterglemm in Austria. They arrived at the port at 11pm on Friday and were still waiting to board at Saturday lunchtime. | Dafydd Francis, a PE teacher from Seven Sisters, Neath, was one of 33 people attempting to travel from south Wales to Saalbach-Hinterglemm in Austria. They arrived at the port at 11pm on Friday and were still waiting to board at Saturday lunchtime. |
| “[I’ve] never seen anything like this,” he told the PA news agency. “We will arrive at the resort 14 hours late if we are lucky … I have organised various trips since 1998 for school and family and friends, approximately 50 trips. We will fly next time. We all feel angry but shellshocked at the situation.” | “[I’ve] never seen anything like this,” he told the PA news agency. “We will arrive at the resort 14 hours late if we are lucky … I have organised various trips since 1998 for school and family and friends, approximately 50 trips. We will fly next time. We all feel angry but shellshocked at the situation.” |
| Some schoolchildren were reportedly unwell during the long wait. One coach driver, with a party of 48 children from Swansea, said on Saturday that some were “not doing very well” after not eating a substantial meal for more than 15 hours. Robert Kordula, who was transporting the schoolchildren to Italy, said they were sent to wait overnight at a small petrol station, which “couldn’t cope” with the number of people sent there. “There wasn’t enough food and the toilets ran out of toilet paper”, he said. | |
| The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, called on the government to “get a grip” on the situation. | The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, called on the government to “get a grip” on 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.” |
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| 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. | |
| 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 | 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. | 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.” | |
| #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.” |
| 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. | 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. |
| A government spokesperson said: “The UK government remains in close contact with ferry operators, the French authorities, and the Kent resilience forum, regarding delays at the Port of Dover. | A government spokesperson said: “The UK government remains in close contact with ferry operators, the French authorities, and the Kent resilience forum, regarding delays at the Port of Dover. |
| “The port has advised that it remains busy, but the situation has improved significantly since yesterday, with coaches being processed at a much quicker rate. We recommend passengers check the latest advice from their operators before travelling.” | “The port has advised that it remains busy, but the situation has improved significantly since yesterday, with coaches being processed at a much quicker rate. We recommend passengers check the latest advice from their operators before travelling.” |