Dover delays: What caused the Easter travel queues chaos?

After delays besieged Dover last weekend were finally cleared on Monday, holidaymakers booked on cross-Channel ferries are facing fresh delays ahead of the Easter weekend.

Ferry operator DFDS tweeted that queues for passport checks by French officials at the Kent port are “up to 60 minutes”.

The chaotic scenes seen at Dover last weekend saw thousands of people delayed by up to 14 hours.

Delays at the port have been blamed on French border officials carrying out extra checks and stamping UK passports following Brexit.

Port officials said they held a “urgent review” with ferry operators and the French authorities in an attempt to avoid a repeat of last weekend’s delays.

Watch: Home secretary denies Dover delays will be regular occurrence

Ferry companies are asking coach operators booked on sailings on Good Friday – expected to be the busiest day for outbound Easter travel from Dover – to “spread the travel” across the three-day period from Thursday to Saturday, while additional “temporary border control infrastructure” has also been installed.

With more delays expected, what was the cause of travel queues in Dover last weekend?

Were Dover delays caused by Brexit?

Many people pointed the finger of blame for the Dover delays at Brexit.

French border officials at Dover have to stamp UK passports following the withdrawal from the European Union.

The latest to blame Brexit was Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who told LBC Radio on Monday: “Of course Brexit has had an impact – there are more checks to be done.

“Once we left, it was obvious that what had to happen at the border would change.

“Yet again we have got to the first big holiday of the year and we have got queues, to the great frustration of many families trying to get out to have a well-earned holiday."

He said the government needs to "get a grip".

But home secretary Suella Braverman rejected suggestions that Brexit was to blame.

She told the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme on Sky News it would not be fair to view the delays as “an adverse effect of Brexit”.

She said that in general “things have been operating very smoothly at the border”.

But Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership, the UK’s largest network of independent travel agents, said: “We always knew it was going to be a busy period for ports and airports, and, whilst mitigation measures were put in place, it is clear that the Brexit impact has not been adequately planned for.

“Since the UK left the EU, the need for passports to be stamped and checked by French authorities – which is done at Dover – has created a bottleneck at the port and is a major contributor to the delays that have been experienced.”

And Simon Calder, travel correspondent at The Independent, said processing times since the UK left the EU "would seem to explain the delays".

He told the BBC the EU border at Dover meant things were "gumming up" as each passport has to be inspected and stamped following Brexit.

Conservative MP Sir Robert Buckland suggested Brexit had helped cause the disruption.

He told Sky News: "I think that there's no doubt that some of the increased checks that now are necessary since we left the EU will be a part of that.

"I think it's all the authorities on both sides of the channel, both the French and the British authorities, have to work even harder to make sure that those short straits are working as effectively as possible at times of maximum pressure."

His fellow Tory MP, Tobias Ellwood, tweeted: "Of course, it's connected to Brexit.

"Our current Brexit model resulted in an end to travel freedoms. But as they weren't replaced with new ones – processing takes longer – hence the delays."

Read more

Brexit to blame for Dover chaos hitting Easter trips, say senior Tories (Evening Standard, 3 min read)

Brexit ‘has had an impact’ on Dover queues says Starmer (PA Media, 3 min read)

Simon Calder says Brexit is to blame for Dover chaos (The Independent, 1 min read)

French passport control

Because the French authorities check and stamp passports at Dover, they were blamed by some for causing the delays.

Last Friday, the Port of Dover declared a "critical incident", and said the delays were “due to lengthy French border processes and sheer volume”.

Watch: Sir Keir Starmer says government needs to 'get a grip' on Dover

Natalie Eplhicke, the Conservative MP for Dover and Deal, and a Brexiteer, wrote on Twitter: "Incredibly disappointing to see French border control problems once again adding to traffic mayhem just as families are trying to get away for the Easter holidays."

Ferry company P&O Ferries said on Friday: "The delay for coaches today is due to the time it is taking to process each vehicle at French border controls."

Lucy Moreton, professional officer at the ISU, the Union for Borders, Immigration and Customs, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Monday that the delays were largely caused by French authorities inspecting and stamping every passport, as Britons cannot spend more than 90 days in France in any 180-day period without a visa.

Read more

Tory MP blames chaos at Dover on French border control (The National, 3 min read)

French to blame for queues at Port of Dover, suggests Tory MP (The Independent, 3 min read)

Poor weather and higher volume

On Sunday, Braverman appeared to suggest higher volume was the reason for the Dover delays.

She said: "What I would say is at acute times when there is a lot of pressure crossing the Channel, whether that’s on the tunnel or ferries, then I think that there’s always going to be a back-up.

"I just urge everybody to be a bit patient while the ferry companies work their way through the backlog.”

Ferry operator DFDS Seaways said bad weather was to blame.

A spokesperson said on Friday: "The queues at Dover today have been as a result of bad weather causing delays to sailings, combined with high volumes of traffic, and particularly coach groups."

The south of England was battered by high winds and heavy rain on Friday morning as Storm Mathis hit the country.

Read more

Brexit not to blame for Port of Dover delays, insists Braverman (PA Media, 5 min read)

Port of Dover declares critical incident as high levels of traffic cause delays (PA Media, 3 min read)

'Never seen anything like this': Travellers stranded in Dover chaos (Evening Standard, 5 min read)

'Lack of government planning'

The Labour Party said the delays were the result of a "lack of planning" by the UK government and other authorities.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We can’t have this every time there is an Easter holiday, every time there is a summer holiday.

“It is particularly the lack of planning around coach parties and that really affects school children as well.

“I would urge the Home Office, the transport department, to talk with Dover and also with their French counterparts to make sure that we don’t get a re-run of this.”

Read more

Coach passengers finally get in to Port of Dover after huge delays (PA Media, 4 min read)

Port of Dover queues clear after weekend of disruption (PA Media, 3 min read)

Passengers stranded for hours by Port of Dover delays (Sky News, 4 min read)