Crisis talks are needed to combat a repeat of the travel chaos seen at Dover over the weekend as coaches were delayed by up to 24 hours.
Without a resolution, the coach sector fears the situation will only get worse as the UK enters the start of the summer season when more holidaymakers will travel.
The call from industry trade body the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) came amid reports that a cap on the number of coaches travelling at peak times is under consideration for the port of Dover.
Standing down the “critical incident” which involved ferry operators and border agencies working around the clock to clear coaches from the passport check gridlock, the port said: “We will be conducting a full review of our plans with the ferry operators early this week to ensure improvements are made ready for the forthcoming Easter weekend.”
Coach sector trade association the CPT urged the government to get together with the port, ferry companies and coach operators for “crisis talks” to “put an end to travel chaos for passengers at the English border”.
The CPT voiced frustration that lessons had not been learnt from the February half term holidays and coaches were again held back behind cars and HGVs.
“The result is that many coach passengers, including thousands of children travelling on school trips, were delayed between 8 and 24 hours,” the association said.
“CPT understands this weekend (1 and 2 April) the weather on the channel was a minor contributory factor to the disruption, but according to the Port of Dover, the French authorities had the right number of border guards asked of them to carry out passport checks.”
The association’s chief executive Graham Vidler said: “Something’s clearly wrong when a coach – the most efficient way to transport large numbers of people across the Channel – is treated unfairly compared to other vehicles.
“Coaches provide the answer to the environmental and congestion issues we’re trying to address, yet some of our spacious vehicles full of students and holidaymakers were left stranded.
“The procedures to enter the EU should not have a negative impact on people who don’t want to fly or drive by car to continental Europe.
“We’re calling on the government, the Port of Dover and ferry companies to get round the table with the coach sector to resolve this mess once and for all.”
A spokesman for the prime minister was quoted by the Evening Standard in London as saying: “The public are free to choose wherever they wish to travel, obviously, post-Covid. That said, we would always encourage people to boost UK tourism whenever they choose to do so.”