Published: Less than 20 min ago
Traffic jams in Dover continued for the third day in a row as Britons on holiday waited to catch the ferry to France. Even at the Eurotunnel, waiting times were still long on Sunday.
The traffic chaos has been ongoing since Friday. Many schools have started their summer holidays and British families can travel abroad freely for the first time since the pandemic.
Drivers wanting to take the nearby Eurotunnel to the French side still had to wait 90 minutes to check into the car train.
However, the worst of the congestion has eased somewhat compared to recent days, according to Doug Bannister, Portmaster of Dover, who thanked staff for their efforts during “extremely challenging days”.
All are checked
Thousands of travelers were forced to wait for hours on Saturday. At most, a family had to queue for eleven hours to check in on the car train in the Eurotunnel, and truck drivers testify to an 18-hour wait.
– You know, before Brexit you just had to wave your passport and maybe they looked at it, maybe not. Now everyone is checked and stamped, says driver Natalie Chapman at Logistics UK.
More bureaucracy
British politicians have blamed the travel chaos on the French, who are believed to have understaffed the border. But French authorities and port and border staff on both sides have blamed Brexit.
Border controls and extra paperwork for freight traffic were reintroduced when Britain left the EU last year, and the free movement of people and goods was hindered.
British Foreign Minister Liz Truss says she had a “good conversation” with her French colleague Catherine Colonna. According to Colonna, there is a need to improve the border crossing at Dover.