Brexit blamed for Dover gridlock on second day of travel chaos
Long queues formed at Dover and a major incident was declared as a second day of travel chaos consumed the key port amid additional post-Brexit checks.
The disruption came as most schools in England and Wales broke up for the summer holidays, marking the start of one of the busiest periods for foreign travel.
Passengers faced hours-long queues and were warned to expect another “very busy day” at Dover.
Kent officials declared a major incident due to the traffic as P&O Ferries told travellers to allow at least three to four hours to pass through security and French border checks.
About 10,000 cars are predicted to travel through the port on Saturday – 1,500 more than on Friday. About 3,000 lorries are also reportedly waiting to cross the Channel.
Doug Bannister, the port’s chief executive, said there could be delays of five to six hours. “It could be. We were expecting that today was going to be a busier day than yesterday,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday.
“We are operating in a post-Brexit environment which does mean that passports need to be checked, they need to be stamped and indeed the capable people that do man the booths – Police aux Frontières – they’re doing their job that they need to do now.”
French politician Pierre-Henri Dumont, the Republican MP for Calais, blamed the UK’s exit from the EU for the chaos, telling BBC News it was “an aftermath of Brexit” with more checks needed.
The foreign secretary, Liz Truss, said France was to blame for “entirely avoidable” delays, calling on officials there to “build up capacity at the border to limit any further disruption for British tourists and to ensure this appalling situation is avoided in future”.
But Dumont said there was “no need to blame French
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