Delays at the Port of Dover could continue throughout summer unless the “blame game” between UK and French authorities comes to an end, Eurocamp’s chief sales and marketing officer has warned.
Ross Matthews admonished the authorities for “arguing over the cause of delays” and urged them to act swiftly to prevent the queues from impacting future holidaymakers.
The port declared a “critical incident” on July 22 as passengers were urged to allow at least six hours to clear security, amid reports of more than 200 miles of tourist and freight traffic combined.
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Although the Kent port said the backlog was cleared by July 23, Matthews fears there could be a repeat of the disruption over the coming months.
“With passport and documentation checks now taking longer than previous years, these delays are not going to improve at peak times without key travel authorities taking ownership,” he said.
“To end the chaos, both the UK and French border authorities need to work together for a solution. It’s clear there is a need for more capacity from passport control lanes and booths at both Dover and Folkestone, but equally, understaffing from border control on the French side needs to be looked at.”
He added: “It’s not enough to keep playing the blame game. These key authorities are the only ones who can prevent these huge backlogs continuing and, rather than arguing over the cause of delays, they need to step up and do something about it.
“This is unfair for holidaymakers who are being forced to wait in lengthy queues at the start of what should be a wonderful holiday experience.”
Travel chaos at the port led to a war of words between UK and French officials, with both sides blaming each other.
The UK government said French authorities failed to provide enough border staff to check passports at Dover over the weekend, but French transport minister Clement Beaune rejected this and highlighted additional border checks required by Brexit.