UpdateIn Great Britain, extra ferries from Dover port during the night from Saturday to Sunday will eliminate long queues. Some passengers had to wait 14 hours for their departure.
A spokeswoman for the port hopes to have the backlog filled by Sunday afternoon. The port said the delays were due to bad weather, increased waiting time at customs and high passenger volume due to the holiday season.
Shipping company P&O Ferries informed passengers of the delays in a tweet on Saturday evening. “We apologize for the wait times this weekend.” “We have added extra boats at night to clear the demand. Once the buses reach our check-in desks, they proceed to the next crossing to Calais.
Buses at the cruise terminal will have to wait up to 3.5 hours before they run to the Port of Dover. Once they are in the buffer zone at the port entrance, the waiting time is around 3 to 4 hours.
Problems since Friday
The Port of Dover has been very busy since Friday, causing long traffic jams. “Due to border control, bus traffic at the port is facing huge delays. “Ferry operators are diverting bus services to alternative waiting areas so that the existing backlog can be cleared,” the Port of Dover said on Twitter on Friday. Waiting times at border control ranged from five to six hours.
Shipping company DFDS warned its customers on Friday evening that waiting times for boarding at the Port of Dover were expected to be seven hours “due to overcrowding”. “The delays experienced by buses tonight are due to the time it takes French customs to check each vehicle, which is unfortunately beyond our control,” said rival P&O Ferries.
On the other side of the Channel, the port of Calais said there was a “risk of delays” as traffic to Dover was affected by “weather conditions”.
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