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Eurotunnel hoping to clear passenger backlog Eurotunnel hoping to clear passenger backlog
(35 minutes later)
Eurotunnel says it hopes to clear its backlog of passengers overnight and run a normal service on Sunday.Eurotunnel says it hopes to clear its backlog of passengers overnight and run a normal service on Sunday.
At one stage on Saturday it said there were delays of up to five hours, partly caused by migrants storming its terminal in France on Friday night.At one stage on Saturday it said there were delays of up to five hours, partly caused by migrants storming its terminal in France on Friday night.
It said there was now a 60-minute boarding delay in Kent. Services from Calais are on schedule.It said there was now a 60-minute boarding delay in Kent. Services from Calais are on schedule.
Passengers have been advised to arrive on time when they travel on Sunday, rather than turn up early.Passengers have been advised to arrive on time when they travel on Sunday, rather than turn up early.
Eurotunnel services have been hit by strikes and migrants targeting lorries for weeks. Eurotunnel services have been hit by strikes and migrants trying to stow away on lorries, in their attempts to cross from France to the UK, for weeks.
Shortly before midnight on Friday, Eurotunnel was forced to briefly suspend services after migrants accessed the Eurotunnel terminal on the French side. The operator said that caused a backlog of delays, on top of traffic issues, which it was working through on Saturday. Shortly before midnight on Friday, Eurotunnel was forced to briefly suspend services after migrants accessed the Eurotunnel terminal on the French side.
The operator said that caused a backlog of delays, on top of traffic issues, which it was working through on Saturday.
In other travel updates:In other travel updates:
A spokesman for Eurotunnel told the BBC the service was running four trips an hour. John Keefe, a spokesman for Eurotunnel, told the BBC a normal service was now being run and any remaining delays were being caused by the large volume of traffic to the Eurotunnel site, in part because of Operation Stack.
He said delays were being were caused by the volume of traffic, in part because of Operation Stack. It is also one of the busiest days of the year for travel, he said.
He added it was also one of the busiest days of the weekend for travel. It is hoped the remainder of the backlog will be cleared overnight and a normal service without delays will be run by Sunday morning.
Operation Stack, which shuts parts of the coast-bound M20 to vehicles, is designed to help deal with disruption and involves parking up lorries waiting to reach France. Passengers have been advised to check for traffic updates before travelling and not turn up early, to avoid too many people crowding the terminal.
On the issue of migrants, Mr Keefe said Eurotunnel had already spent 13m euros (£9.2m) on security in the first six months of the year - more than its usual 10m euros (£7.1m) annual budget.
Operation Stack, which was introduced by Kent Police, involves the queuing of lorries on the M20 in Kent to help deal with disruption to services across the English Channel.