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Dover ferry queues: Extra overnight English Channel crossings laid on to clear backlog Dover ferry queues: Extra overnight English Channel crossings laid on to clear backlog
(about 3 hours later)
Photos showed long queues at the port on Friday evening Coach driver Anthony Jones - who sent this picture - described a "frustrating" situation with queues at the port
Additional sailings will be put on overnight by ferry operators at the Port of Dover, as it works through the Easter traffic backlog. Ferry operators have laid on additional overnight sailings from the Port of Dover, as they work through a backlog of Easter traffic.
Delays were first reported on Friday night, and some passengers waited 14 hours to board their ferry to France.Delays were first reported on Friday night, and some passengers waited 14 hours to board their ferry to France.
Strong winds, a large volume of coaches and slower processing times at border control were cited as reasons. Strong winds, a large volume of coaches and slower processing times at border control have been cited as reasons.
Doug Bannister, the port's chief executive, said his team anticipate the backlog will be cleared overnight. Doug Bannister, the port's chief executive, saidhis team anticipated the backlog would be cleared overnight.
P&O Ferries and DFDS Seaways initially reported disruption to their ferry services late on Friday. Coach passengers, who have been particularly badly affected, shared details of their ordeals with the BBC - some of them calling the situation "carnage".
Coach passengers were particularly badly hit, with many having to wait at the port all through the night on Friday. Holidaymaker Jennifer Fee said on Saturday evening that her coach was "turning around and going back to London" having been told there was "no chance of a ferry today".
Throughout Saturday, many passengers shared their ordeals with the BBC, with some calling the situation "carnage". Ms Fee sent BBC News footage of passengers camped out on the floor of a service station in nearby Folkestone - where coaches had been "stacked up" due to delays at the port.
The management for the port apologised for the "prolonged delays" and said the backlog was being cleared. Coach passengers ended up camping on the floor of a service station in Folkestone, due to delays in nearby Dover
On Saturday evening, Mr Bannister said: "My ops team is anticipating that we will get through all the backlog, including all the people that wanted to travel today, overnight."The ferry operators are laying on additional sailings overnight to try and accomplish that, so hopefully by about midday tomorrow we'll be back to normal operations." Many coaches stuck in Dover have been carrying schoolchildren from different parts of the UK on school trips abroad.
In a statement to the BBC, the Port of Dover said both P&O and DFDS are adding additional sailings tonight. One driver taking a group from Cardiff to Austria said they had been in the vehicle for 14 hours.
Ferries usually have a longer gap between sailings at night, but they are now "basically just running back and forth to clear as much as they can", the port's communications team explained. Anthony Jones described a "frustrating" situation with "no communication", telling BBC News that it appeared cars and lorries were passing through border checks ahead of coaches.
Other passengers earlier described a lengthy wait at Dover all through the night on Friday into Saturday.
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The port also said long border processing times were partly to blame for delays, while some ferry companies said bad weather had disrupted travel. The management for the port apologised for the "prolonged delays" and said the tailbacks were being cleared.
Cars can be boarded much quicker than a coachload of separate passengers and the port said that ferry companies had received 15% more coach bookings for the Easter period than the port had initially anticipated when it began planning four months ago. On Saturday evening, Mr Bannister said: "My ops team is anticipating that we will get through all the backlog, including all the people that wanted to travel today, overnight."The ferry operators are laying on additional sailings overnight to try and accomplish that, so hopefully by about midday tomorrow we'll be back to normal operations."
Responding to the claims of lengthy delays in checks at the border control point, the regional prefecture in northern France said that there were "no difficulties that we know of", but that lots of coaches had arrived to travel at around the same time. Ferries usually have a longer gap between sailings at night - but they were "basically just running back and forth to clear as much as they can", the port's communications team added.
All border checkpoints were operational and border police had changed some car checkpoints into slots for coaches, it added. Officials explained that long border processing times were partly to blame for delays - combined with the bad weather cited by ferry companies.
Many coaches stick in Dover were carrying schoolchildren from different parts of the UK who were travelling to Europe on school trips. Ferry companies had received 15% more coach bookings for the Easter period than had been expected, the port said. Boarding coachloads of separate passengers is much slower than boarding cars.
Parent Claire Bryant, whose 12-year-old daughter is on her first-ever ski trip with fellow pupils from Cardiff's Radyr Comprehensive, said their "nightmare" began on Friday at 18:00 BST and continued on Saturday. Responding to the claims of lengthy delays in border checks, officials in northern France said there were "no difficulties that we know of", but that lots of coaches had arrived to travel at around the same time.
Ms Bryant said the pupils had since crossed the Channel but were now waiting for an additional driver in Reims, as their current driver had reached his driving hours' limit. All border checkpoints were operational and border police had changed some car checkpoints into slots for coaches, they added.
"They should be skiing right now - instead they're at Burger King," she said.
"It was supposed to be a 20-hour journey. I don't know how long it will be for a replacement [driver]."
A UK government spokesperson said it remained in close contact with ferry operators and authorities. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the government needed to "get a grip" of the situation at Dover.A UK government spokesperson said it remained in close contact with ferry operators and authorities. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the government needed to "get a grip" of the situation at Dover.
Simon Calder, travel correspondent at the Independent, said processing times since leaving the EU had increased sharply "and that would seem to explain the delays".Simon Calder, travel correspondent at the Independent, said processing times since leaving the EU had increased sharply "and that would seem to explain the delays".
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Saturday, he said that having an EU border at Dover meant things were "gumming up", and that each individual passport must now be inspected and stamped. An EU border at Dover meant things were "gumming up", as each individual passport had to be inspected and stamped after Brexit, he told the BBC.
This means that coach loads of passengers must disembark to have their passports checked, adding to delays. Delays have been compounded by coachloads of passengers needing to disembark to have their passports checked.
Despite the disruption, some passengers stuck at a service station in Folkestone appeared to be in decent spirits, and were seen dancing to pass the time.
Have you been affected by the delays? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.Have you been affected by the delays? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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