M20 chaos as Port of Dover and Eurotunnel drivers face second day of misery
Operation Brock persists on the M20
Drivers heading for the Port of Dover on Saturday (July 23) faced long waits and lengthy queues. Bumper-to-bumper traffic, in six-hour queues, made its way towards the Port of Dover – one of the busiest periods for foreign travel from the UK as most schools in England and Wales break up for summer.
The Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the delays and queues were "unacceptable", blaming a lack of staffing by the French at the border. But a French politician blamed Brexit for the chaos.
Pierre-Henri Dumont, Republican MP for Calais, said the problems at the Kent port would reoccur, telling BBC News: "This is an aftermath of Brexit. We have to run more checks than before." Mr Dumont also said the Port of Dover was "too small" and that there were too few kiosks due to lack of space.
Read more: M2 closed after serious crash - live updates
A "critical incident" was declared by the port due to the queues. Tourists were urged to consider staying away. In a statement, Tory leadership hopeful Ms Truss said: "This awful situation should have been entirely avoidable and is unacceptable.
"We need action from France 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. We will be working with the French authorities to find a solution."
The chief executive of the Port of Dover said being "let down" by poor resourcing at the French border was "immensely frustrating". Doug Bannister stopped short of guaranteeing the backlog would clear in the coming days, but pledged that officials were doing all they could to address issues.
A French official said an "unforeseeable technical incident" in the Channel Tunnel meant that the staffing of border control booths had to be pushed back from 8.30am to 9.45am on Friday morning. But Eurotunnel's Director of Public Affairs John Keefe told the BBC that the Tunnel incident had "absolutely nothing to do with problems at the Port of Dover".
Passengers embarking on cross-Channel sailings from Dover must pass through French border checks before they can board a ferry. The port said in a statement that it had increased the number of border control booths by 50%.
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It went on: "Regrettably, the PAF (police aux frontieres) resource has been insufficient and has fallen far short of what is required to ensure a smooth first weekend of the peak summer getaway period." On Friday evening, local MP Natalie Elphicke tweeted: "It's critical that French border officials turn up for work tomorrow at the Port of Dover and that the passport controls are working at full capacity.
"Further significant delays are expected over the weekend." Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: "As the schools closed their doors fully yesterday, Saturday could prove busier still this weekend.
"Drivers should continue to expect disruption and delays on major holiday routes to the south-west, eastern coast and ports of Dover and Folkestone. While many have decided to go at the start of the summer holidays, between now and the beginning of September when schools return, each Friday and Saturday will be busy on our roads.
"This is because these are the main switchover days for holiday lets." Ferry operator P&O Ferries told passengers to allow at least five hours to clear the approach roads and security checks.
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Unfortunately drivers are facing more misery on the Port of Dover for a third day (July 24).
You can read all the latest updates on our latest blog here.
Traffic at the Port of Dover is once again "flowing normally" after days of lengthy queues created travel chaos for holidaymakers. Extra post-Brexit border checks and French authorities’ understaffing of checkpoints in Dover have been blamed for the hold-ups.
However, the port said on Twitter that as of 2.15am on Sunday the system brought in temporarily to manage excess traffic in the area had ended and traffic can proceed directly to the port.
The tweet said: "#TrafficUpdate at #PortofDover at 0215hrs. TAP is off for freight traffic. Freight can travel straight to the Port. "Tourist traffic is also clear in the Port. The approach roads to the Port (A2 / A20) are flowing normally."
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said she told France's Foreign Minister, Catherine Colonna, "we need to see more action" after blaming Channel crossing delays on a lack of staffing by French authorities.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office tweeted a statement from Ms Truss, which said: "I spoke to French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna today about the extremely frustrating delays at the Port of Dover and the Channel tunnel terminal in Folkestone.
"I was clear the French authorities have not put enough people on the border and we need to see action from them to resolve the terrible situation which travellers, including families, are facing."
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said she "welcomed the cooperation" between the UK and France following talks about Channel crossing delays.
The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs tweeted a statement from Ms Colonna, which said: "Good talk with @trussliz about the traffic difficulties near Dover.
"We welcomed the cooperation between our competent technical services to reduce the delays. Need also to improve the facilities of the port of Dover."
Natalie Chapman, from haulier group Logistics UK, said some lorry drivers had waited "in excess of 18 hours" to cross the Channel.
She told the PA news agency: "There are two main issues, first and foremost the welfare of those drivers and the second part is that this is one of the most important trade routes for us in and out of the UK and we want to keep trade flowing so this is obviously causing us significant issues as an industry."
She blamed a number of factors for the delays and backlogs seen on Saturday, including a lack of resourcing at French border control, increased traffic due to problems with airlines, and Brexit changes which mean longer processing times for people crossing the Channel.
She added: "As I say the cause was that lack of resource yesterday but also, of course, it takes a lot longer to process through traffic than it used to.
"You used to, prior to Brexit, just wave your passport and they may or may not be looked at but now every one is checked and stamped."
A family has told of being "fed right up" after getting stuck in traffic for nearly 11 hours at Dover.
Angie Emrys-Jones and four family members, including three children, were only able to board the Eurotunnel at 4.15pm on Saturday – having joined the queue at 5.30am.
"There were rows and rows of standstill traffic as far as we could see since we arrived," the 46-year-old from Cornwall told the PA news agency.
"No police marshalling, (we are) exhausted and hot. Rumours going around the cars were rife… ‘The whole system is down and each car was having to be checked in by hand’ (or) ‘they’ve stopped all trains for the day.’
"Three kids and a dog all fed right up today," Ms Emrys-Jones added.
The family still have a 16-hour journey ahead of them to Umbria, Italy.
The latest update from P&O Ferries reads:
We continue to work closely with all parties to ensure the situation improves and the impact on our passengers is minimised. Once you reach us, the check in is free flowing and we will get you on the first available ferry, regardless of your ticket type
A couple has shared their frustration at being stuck in the queuing traffic for more than seven hours as there is a way to go to clear the backlog in Dover. Annette Culshaw and her husband Robert left Westgate at 5am, hoping to avoid congestion but they were still stuck in traffic at 2pm.
The pair described the situation as ‘horrible’. Read the full story here.
Heavy congestion has built up on the M20 between J12 and J13, resulting in delays of approximately two hours. Pictures from this section of the road show countless gridlocked cars and pedestrians walking around outside of their vehicles as traffic sits at a standstill.
The latest update from traffic monitoring site Inrix reads: "M20 coastbound closed long delays, queueing traffic due to Operation Brock, the motorway remains open to EU-bound freight traffic from J8 A20 Ashford Road (Leeds Castle / Maidstone Services) to J12 A20 Ashford Road (Cheriton). Congestion to the A20 between Westenhanger and Folkestone in both directions.
"Routes through Hythe are seeing heavy delays as people try to exit. This stretch is open only to freight traffic heading for the Port Of Dover or Eurotunnel. All other traffic is required to divert.
"The London bound side of the road remains open to all traffic. May affect people travelling from further afield."
Severe delays on #M20 westbound J13 to J12 in #Kent. Due to amount of tourist traffic attempting to enter @LeShuttle terminal via J12 combined with freight traffic from J11a. Traffic management in place but processing and loading of travellers is causing a significant tailback. pic.twitter.com/9AaWzW3b8R
Our next departures from #PODOVER are as follows:12:35 ETD 13:3514:00 ETD 14:1516:05 ETD 16:2017:25 ETD TBCBoarding will commence approximately 30 minutes before departure. We look forward to welcoming you on board!
The latest statement from the Port of Dover reads: "The Port of Dover is relieved that French border staff (Police Aux Frontieres) have been fully mobilised at French border controls in Dover (known as ‘juxtaposed controls’) on Saturday morning in order to get holidaymakers and freight vehicles moving and to relieve the disruption on the Dover and wider Kent community.
"There is of course a way to go to clear the backlog of waiting passengers, some of whom have had more extensive delays due to a serious incident yesterday on the M20. Our thoughts are with those who were caught up in the incident, both directly and indirectly as a result of the additional disruption.
"We will, together with our ferry operators, support the efforts of all partners to get people on their way as quickly as possible. Today is going to be very busy, with more UK tourists heading to Dover in order to travel to France.
"Passengers should keep in touch with their ferry operators for the latest information on their sailings."
Doug Bannister, CEO, Port of Dover, said: "I welcome the commitment shown by both French and UK authorities to resolve the issue and thank the French border officials for the work that I hope they will now fulfil to keep the port system working as it should.
"It is vital that attention remains high and that all partners maintain the required staffing levels throughout the weekend, indeed the rest of the summer, so that we can begin to return to the positive experience we had planned for those going on their well-earned breaks."
A mum from Shropshire, along with her husband and two children, was among thousands who have been stuck in queues lasting hours to board the Channel Tunnel. The family usually travels at least twice a year to France but the unnamed mum said she has never experienced such delays before.
Read the full story here.
Cllr David Burton, Leader of Maidstone Borough Council said: "Once again traffic disruption at the Port of Dover impacts all of us in Kent and now with Operation Brock being extended this will affect Maidstone residents and businesses. It is so disruptive to the people who live and visit the Maidstone area and we are constantly lobbying for a permanent solution.
"This situation cannot be allowed to continue. I can't stress enough how important it is to plan your journeys, follow any diversion routes and make sure you take enough water and food with you if you are driving through Kent."
One lane of the M2 remains closed following a serious accident that occured earlier this morning, adding to the pressure on Kent's motrways today. Approximately four miles of traffic has built up in the area while recovering works take place.
A 25 mile diversion route was established earlier while the road was closed completely. Lane two has since reopened with traffic now passing via this lane.
This is just a tiny snippet of the #m20 stacked from Ashford back to Maidstone. Miles and miles. It's the same going from Folkestone to #Dover. Local roads at gridlock, businesses & lives disrupted. If this was London someone would do something. #DoverChaos #BrexitReality pic.twitter.com/MkkKslfUr2
The latest traffic update from Inrix reads:
M20 coastbound closed severe delays, queueing traffic due to Operation Brock but the motorway remains open to EU-bound freight traffic from J8 A20 Ashford Road (Leeds Castle / Maidstone Services) to J12 A20 Ashford Road (Cheriton). Congestion to the A20 coastbound between Westenhanger and Folkestone with routes through Hythe seeing heavy delays.
With legnthy queues and wait times of six hours in some instances, new images have shown the true extent of the traffic build up amid the ongoing 'critical incident'. You can find all of the pictures from the scene here.
The latest update from P&O Ferries reads: "Please be aware that there is heavy traffic at border control. If you're booked to travel today please allow at least 3-4hrs to clear the approach roads and security checks. Rest assured ,if you miss your sailing,you'll be on the first available once at check-in."
The #M20 coastbound is now closed for non freight traffic between J8 (#Maidstone) and J12 (#Folkestone). Tourist traffic for @Port_of_Dover is advised to use the #A249 from #M20 J7 and then the #M2/#A2 into Dover. More info on all diversions here: https://t.co/znksmkfA4k pic.twitter.com/j8XyjnGmrG
pic.twitter.com/hSkhqtcnVE
The latest update from traffic monitoring site Inrix states: "M20 coastbound closed, queueing traffic due to Operation Brock but the motorway remains open to EU-bound freight traffic from J8 A20 Ashford Road (Leeds Castle / Maidstone Services) to J12 A20 Ashford Road (Cheriton). Congestion to the A20 coastbound between Westenhanger and Folkestone.
"This stretch is open only to freight traffic heading for the Port Of Dover or Eurotunnel. All other traffic is required to divert.
"The London bound side of the road remains open to all traffic. May affect people travelling from further afield."
The full statement from the Port of Dover reads:
On behalf of passengers trying to get on their way for a well-earned summer holiday, HGV drivers performing their critical role of delivering goods, our community who are severely impacted, our ferry operators awaiting their customers, our own port staff who have worked so hard in good faith and all of our Kent and Government partners with whom we have prepared together over several months for the busy summer; we are deeply frustrated that the resource at the French border overnight and early this morning has been woefully inadequate to meet our predicted demand and even more deeply regret the consequences that will now be felt by so many.
Knowing we are now in a new world of post-Brexit and Covid checks, we worked to increase interim French border control booths by 50% and has improved traffic systems in order to build in resilience and capacity in time for the summer. The Port of Dover made significant investment and delivered on this.
We trained a new team of passenger champions to be on hand and assist customers at the port. They are there working hard and doing all they can to help them.
We also have provided enhanced amenities, such as toilets and refreshments, as well as water refilling stations, to look after customers. We have worked particularly hard, and extremely positively up to now, with our Police Aux Frontieres (PAF) colleagues over recent months to plan for the traffic volumes that were fully expected.
We have shared traffic volumes in granular detail with the French authorities in order that these volumes can be matched by adequate border resource. The Dover route remains the most popular sea route to France and France remains one of the key holiday destinations for British families.
We know that resource is finite, but the popularity of Dover is not a surprise. Regrettably, the PAF resource has been insufficient and has fallen far short of what is required to ensure a smooth first weekend of the peak summer getaway period.
We will continue to work with all Kent partners to look after those caught up in the current situation, which could and should have been avoided, and play our part in resolving it as soon as possible. Working with and through the UK government, we will also liaise constructively with PAF to work through the present logjam and to stress again the importance of adequate French border resource for the coming days and weeks on which we had previously been assured.
We have to work as a team, and when we do the system works incredibly well, but it is reliant on every team member playing their part.
Welcome to our live blog, here we will be providing updates to the ongoing situation at the Port of Dover which has brought severe traffic and delays to Kent's motorways.