Dover queues – live: Roads ‘extremely busy’ as passengers urged to bring supplies

Huge queues of holidaymakers are waiting on “extremely busy roads” close to the Port of Dover amid warnings of 90-minute delays.

Cars could be seen snaking from the Kent port to the nearby town after 11am on Good Friday, with lorries thought to be stretching back further.

P&O Ferries and operator DFDS were reporting delays of between 60 and 90 minutes to the port’s entrance while Irish Ferries advised people to allow up to three hours before their travel time.

Drivers have been advised to bring supplies in case they are left waiting for hours, with queues expected to lengthen in the early afternoon.

Doug Bannister, chief executive of the Port of Dover, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s going to be a busy day, we’re running probably about an hour to an hour and a half to get through border controls at the moment, and we will peak through probably early afternoon, and then it will start to slow down after that.”

Meanwhile, our travel correspondent Simon Calder is heading to Calais where he will feed back live on the delays he faces.

Key Points

• More chaos for Easter holidaymakers as French protests block traffic

• In pictures: Cars stuck in long traffic queues at Dover

• Simon Calder sets off to Calais

• Huge queue of cars stretching back from Dover port

Huge queue of cars stretching back from Dover port

12:23 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Huge queues of holidaymakers are waiting on “extremely busy roads” close to the Port of Dover amid warnings of 90-minute delays.

Cars could be seen snaking from the Kent port to the nearby town after 11am on Good Friday, with lorries thought to be stretching back further.

P&O Ferries and operator DFDS were reporting delays of between 60 and 90 minutes to the port’s entrance while Irish Ferries advised people to allow up to three hours before their travel time.

Drivers have been advised to bring supplies in case they are left waiting for hours, with queues expected to lengthen in the early afternoon.

Doug Bannister, chief executive of the Port of Dover, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “First of all, the weather’s clear, the ferries are sailing well, and all that sort of stuff, this weekend was always scheduled to be about 30% lighter than last weekend, today being the busier day.

“What we did is we worked with our ferry operators to try and spread the demand across the three days rather than all on this day.

“I know that that’s challenging for the coach industry because they have itineraries that they want to maintain, but they’ve worked with the ferry operators to be able to do that, and that’s been successful.

“We’ve also installed a new facility to expand our processing at the borders for coaches, that’s operational, I just saw one goes through in just shy of 10 minutes.

“It’s going to be a busy day, we’re running probably about an hour to an hour and a half to get through border controls at the moment, and we will peak through probably early afternoon, and then it will start to slow down after that.”

Cruise control

11:24 , Simon Calder

At the roundabout outside Dover where Jubilee Way begins its long, sweeping curve down to the ferry port, a police checkpoint is directing Europe-bound coaches away from the main road.

The bus stutters through the town, heading west instead of east towards the town.

I can’t help but wonder where I’m bound. But in the past few minutes DFDS Ferries has tweeted: “DOVER COACHES| DFDS Coaches travelling from Dover must go to Western Docks - Cruise terminal before arriving at Port of Dover”.

That may be the answer.

Sunshine express – the journey so far

10:59 , Simon Calder

Progress was sluggish from Victoria Coach Station through south-east London.

The coach paused to pick up passengers at Elephant & Castle – at what was once the start of E5 Trans-European Superhighway to Istanbul but which is now merely the New Kent Road/A2 towards Dover.

Blackheath was looking lovely, and soon the double-deck, acid-green Flixbus was on the M2 to the point in north Kent which is a “TOTSO” – where the driver, Hussein, had to Turn Off To Stay On the main road to Dover.

The mood on board has darkened since crossing the River Medway – which coincided with someone opening an overpoweringly pungent snack, which seems to be infused with weapons-grade garlic.

Simon Calder’s travel plan

10:30 , Simon Calder

I have a £61 ticket for Flixbus from London Victoria Coach Station to Brussels. The journey is scheduled to take nine hours and 10 minutes, with a stop at Lille in northern France along the way.

The ferry crossing is expected to be on DFDS from Dover to Calais at around 12 noon – though the company is warning of waits for border crossings 60-90 minutes.

Each of the 50 or so passengers on board must have their passport checked by French Police aux Frontieres at Dover, which is now a hard European Union frontier. So it may be that the ferry may be in early afternoon, and/or switched to Dunkirk – the other DFDS route from Dover.

I have no ticket back from the Continent, because frankly I have no idea when I might make landfall.

Traffic update from Simon

10:20 , Simon Calder

The M2 through north Kent is flowing freely in both directions, with a mix of cars, trucks and coaches.

The motoring organisations predict that Easter traffic will be especially heavy on Good Friday.

The worst jams are predicted to be on the western side of the M25; the M5 south of Bristol; the A303 in Wiltshire, near Stonehenge; approaches to the Lake District; and the M20 and A20 to Dover.

The best plan: avoid the middle of the day, which is when traffic will be heaviest. If you haven’t started out yet, consider postponing to later.

On the road

09:46 , Simon Calder

Forget two-hour check-in for flights to Europe, or one-hour Eurostar deadlines.

Flixbus, which has sold me a ticket from London to Brussels for £61, suggests you arrive at least five minutes before departure – though just 120 seconds is enough. Hussein, the cheerful Belgian driver, checks tickets.

I am supposed to be in seat 7A, but it seems to be occupied, so instead I am in 18D – a window seat in the last-but-one row.

Departure is delayed due to one Liverpool-bound passenger discovering – in the nick of time – that he is on the wrong coach.

Simon Calder sets off to Calais

09:28 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Our travel correspondent Simon Calder, also known as ‘the Man Who Pays His Way’ is heading to Calais this morning on one of the busiest weekends for travel in the year.

Here he is at Victoria station:

London Victoria railway station is extremely quiet: the half of the terminus that serves Gatwick airport and Brighton is closed because of rail engineering work.

But Victoria Coach Station, the main UK hub for long-distance bus travel, is extremely busy – partly because the West Coast main line is closed in the first 50 miles from London Euston.

At the Art Deco coach station, demand for supplies is so strong that many of the shelves at Pret a Manger are already empty.

Lorry drivers told to prepare for long queues

08:56 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Lorry drivers using the Port of Dover over Easter have been advised to bring supplies in case of long queues.

Nichola Mallon, of Logistics UK, told Sky News: “If they’re waiting considerable periods of time, that becomes a driver welfare issue and so that’s why we’re working very closely with the Kent resilience forum and to make sure that we can minimise delays.

“In fact, I have a number of meetings today as we closely monitor the situation and make sure that contingency plans are in place if needed, and people are working very hard on that.

“Our message to our members would be to check with your ferry operator to make sure that you’re aware of the latest guidance, make sure that you’ve completed all your paperwork before you head there and have supplies there, just in case, and make sure that you leave enough time to accommodate any delays.”

Another Easter of travel chaos begins as queues build at Dover and France hit by strikes

08:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Britons are facing travel chaos this weekend with flights grounded, trains cancelled and traffic already building up at Dover as the Easter weekend getaway begins.

The four days between Good Friday to Easter Monday are expected to be the busiest since 2019, with post-Brexit passport checks, railway works and strikes in France all set to cause delays for travellers.

For many, it will be a repeat of the disruption faced last Easter that was hit by airport staff shortages and cross-Channel hold-ups.

Our travel correspondent Simon Calder reports:

Another Easter of chaos begins with queues at Dover and French strikes

In pictures: traffic builds up at Dover on Good Friday

08:23 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Traffic is in full swing at the Port of Dover in Kent during the getaway for the Easter weekend.

Irish Ferries has warned passengers are expecting a three-hour wait for check-in.

Trouble in Calais

07:31 , Simon Calder

DFDS has said in the past hour that there’s a wait time of an hour for coaches at Calais to complete all checks at port due to the high volume of traffic travelling this weekend.

P&O Ferries had a sailing from Calais to Dover last night delayed due to strike action in France.

Dover delays

07:28 , Simon Calder

At dawn on Friday morning, DFDS Ferries – which sails from Dover to Calais and Dunkirk – was reporting: “Queues of up to 30 minutes at border controls.”

Later in the day travellers are warned: “Please allow 120 minutes to complete border controls and check-in.

Irish Ferries, which sails from Dover to Calais, is telling passengers to allow up to three hours to complete border facilities and check-in

Strong summer ahead for Tui as Britons seek sunshine holidays

07:00 , Emily Atkinson

Tens of thousands of British travellers face disruption on Thursday as another nationwide strike takes place in France.

The latest walkout in protest against President Macron’s proposed pension reforms has caused Eurostar to cancel a pair of trains between London and Paris.

The cross-Channel rail operator said: “There will be a general strike in France on 6 April, which could extend beyond this date. It will involve disruption across multiple sectors, including national rail services and it will have an impact on the availability of some of our crew.”

Read travel correspondent Simon Calder’s report here:

France air traffic control strike sees flights cancelled, Eurostar trains axed

06:00 , Emily Atkinson

Freight lorries, HGVs and cars are seen queuing on the A20 road towards the Port of Dover

Watch: Port of Dover boss promises smoother weekend for France travellers

05:00 , Emily Atkinson

ICYMI: Another Easter of travel chaos begins as queues build at Dover and France hit by strikes

03:00 , Emily Atkinson

Britons are facing travel chaos this weekend with flights grounded, trains cancelled and traffic already building up at Dover as the Easter weekend getaway begins.

The four days between Good Friday to Easter Monday are expected to be the busiest since 2019, with post-Brexit passport checks, railway works and strikes in France all set to cause delays for travellers.

For many, it will be a repeat of the disruption faced last Easter that was hit by airport staff shortages and cross-Channel hold-ups.

Travel correspondent Simon Calder reports:

Another Easter of chaos begins with queues at Dover and French strikes

02:00 , Emily Atkinson

Package holiday company Tui Group has recorded strong demand for Easter holiday trips to destinations with “guaranteed sun”, as it expects a busy summer and bookings to return to pre-Covid levels.

Read more on this story here:

Strong summer ahead for Tui as Britons seek sunshine holidays

ICYMI: Dover port chief contradicts Brexiteer MPs who blamed France for coach delays

01:00 , Emily Atkinson

The boss of the Port of Dover has contradicted claims by senior Tory MPs that French frontier officials were responsible for border hold-ups at the start of the Easter school holidays.

Doug Bannister, chief executive of the UK’s main departure point for continental Europe, said the Police aux Frontieres had been “very, very good” at responding to the build-up of traffic last weekend.

Tens of thousands of travellers queued for 12 hours or more ahead of ferry journeys to France as a post-Covid surge of coach trips came up against tougher post-Brexit border checks.

Read Simon Calder’s exclusive report here:

Dover port chief contradicts Brexiteer MPs who blamed France for coach delays

Listen: Ferry, road and rail disruption over Easter

Thursday 6 April 2023 23:30 , Emily Atkinson

Travel correspondent Simon Calder gives you the travel outlook amid ferry, road and rail disruption over the Easter weekend:

Last weekend was ‘challenging time’ for Dover community, say port authorities ahead of ‘busy’ bank holiday

Thursday 6 April 2023 22:30 , Emily Atkinson

Read the latest statement from the Port of Dover ahead of the “busy” Easter weekend:

Interrail travellers warned to use half-price tickets now or lose out

Thursday 6 April 2023 21:30 , Emily Atkinson

Travellers who purchased Interrail passes during the anniversary sale last year are being warned they need to “activate” them soon before they become void.

In May 2022, Interrail celebrated half a century of the unlimited train ticket in Europe. To mark the occasion, the company behind the rail pass – Eurail, based in the Netherlands – staged a flash sale from 6 to 11 May 2022.

Prospective passengers were offered one-, two- or three-month Interrail passes at half price. These allow go-as-you-please adventures on the national railways of 33 participating countries.

Read travel correspondent Simon Calder’s latest report here:

Use half-price Interrail ticket now or lose out, expert warns

Watch: Hundreds of motorists stuck in Dover queues at start of Easter holidays

Thursday 6 April 2023 20:30 , Emily Atkinson

Hundreds of thousands of British travellers failed by Passport Office delays, according to damning MPs’ report

Thursday 6 April 2023 19:30 , Emily Atkinson

Hundreds of thousands of people were let down by HM Passport Office (HMPO) over the last year, with “unacceptable” delays in receiving their passports, a report from the Public Accounts Committee has concluded.

The scathing document said that HMPO “lacks ambition” to perform better, raises doubts around digital transformation, and suggests there may be knock-on effects for years to come.

Although 95 per cent of customers between January and September 2022 received their travel documents within the advertised 10 weeks, around 360,000 people were forced to wait longer.

More on this story here:

Hundreds of thousands of British travellers failed by Passport Office delays

M5 traffic mired in eight-mile long tailbacks

Thursday 6 April 2023 18:19 , Emily Atkinson

Delays are now being reported on the M5 near Worcestershire, with reports of eight mile tailbacks causing major hold ups in both directions.

Northbound, delays run from junction 8 for the M50 to junction seven for Worcester and Evesham following an accident earlier in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, the southbound delays between junction seven for Worcester and junction eight have been caised by ongoing roadworks along the M50.

Drivers are reportedly facing up to 30 minutes of additional travel times in both directions.

Irish authorities issue appeal to motorists ahead of Easter weekend

Thursday 6 April 2023 17:30 , Emily Atkinson

The Irish Road Safety Authority (RSA) and An Garda Siochana have issued an appeal to motorists of the bank holiday weekend.

The organisations said there have been 11 fatalities and 67 serious injuries across the weekend in the last five years.

Bank holidays bring a higher volume of traffic onto the roads across the country, and with this comes an increased risk of collisions.

“All road users are being encouraged to use the roads responsibly,” the RSA said.

“Drivers are urged to slow down, wear seatbelts and not to drive while impaired through alcohol, drugs or fatigue.

“They are also being reminded to watch out for vulnerable road users including cyclists, pedestrians, horse riders and motorcyclists, particularly on rural roads where most fatal collisions take place.”

Update from port of Dover

Thursday 6 April 2023 15:59 , Emily Atkinson

Tourist traffic is currently free flowing through Dover, according to port authorities amid reports of long queues ahead of the Easter weekend.

Here is their latest update:

Heathrow regains status as one of top 10 busiest airports in the world

Thursday 6 April 2023 15:26 , Emily Atkinson

London Heathrow is once again one of the 10 busiest airports in the world after previously falling down the list as a result of the pandemic.

Having tumbled to number 54 in the global rankings after around two years of closure, Heathrow has now jumped back up to 8th place.

This was the biggest movement recorded by any airport, with the London hub seeing 61.6 million passengers pass through in 2022 – a 217 per cent leap on 2021 figures.

More on this story here:

Heathrow regains status as one of world’s top 10 busiest airports

Latest images from Dover

Thursday 6 April 2023 15:01 , Emily Atkinson

Dover urges ‘patience’ as waits of a ‘few hours’ in store for Friday

Thursday 6 April 2023 14:42 , Emily Atkinson

Britons have been urged to be “patient” on Friday as waits of a “few hours” at the port of Dover threaten to scupper weekend travel plans.

Tweeting this afternoon, the port said: “This Easter weekend will be busy. Extra measures are in place and Passenger Champions are ready at #PortofDover to welcome and help you.

“During the busiest travel hours on Friday, there may be a few hours of waiting. Please, be patient. We’re working hard to get you on your way.”

Aer Lingus app and website restored

Thursday 6 April 2023 14:29 , Emily Atkinson

The website and mobile app of Irish airline Aer Lingus have been restored after going down ahead of one of the busiest travel weekends at Dublin Airport.

Aer Lingus said it expects flights to operate as normal but had previously warned of a risk of delays.

The airline apologised for inconveniencing passengers.

“The Aer Lingus website, mobile app and self-service kiosks are now fully available for customers to check in and manage their bookings,” it said.

Dublin Airport expects 485,000 passengers to pass through its gates between Thursday and Monday.

Ryanair urges EU commission to protect overflights during French strikes

Thursday 6 April 2023 14:12 , Emily Atkinson

Ryanair has shared its frustration over the fallout from French air traffic control strikes, urging the EU commission to take action to protect overflights.

It comes as another day of walkouts in France against President Macron’s plans for pension reform forced Air France, easyJet, Ryanair and Vueling of Spain have cancelled some flights to, from, within or over France on Friday.

Ryanair tweeted: “French air-traffic controllers are entitled to go on strike, but if there is going to be cancellations it is French flights that should take these cancellations, not overflights.”

Holidaymakers face more travel chaos as queues build up at Dover ahead of Easter weekend

Thursday 6 April 2023 13:53 , Emily Atkinson

Millions of Britons are facing travel chaos this weekend with flights grounded, trains cancelled and traffic already building up at Dover as the Easter weekend getaway begins.

The four days between Good Friday to Easter Monday are expected to be the busiest since 2019, with post-Brexit passport checks, rail works and strikes in France all set to cause delays for travellers.

On Thursday morning, holidaymakers booked on cross-Channel ferries from Dover were already facing queues of 90 minutes for passport checks by French officials due to a “high volume” of traffic.

Read travel correspondent Simon Calder’s latest report here:

More travel chaos as queues build up at Dover ahead of Easter weekend

More chaos for Easter holidaymakers as French protests block traffic

Thursday 6 April 2023 13:44 , Emily Atkinson

Easter holidaymakers bound for Europe are already mired in stifling travel delays after French protesters launched another day of industrial action.

France is the latest popular European destination to be hit by walkouts, with strike action in the UK, Portugal and Spain threatening to inflame rampant delays and cancellations.

Travel chaos has broken out on both sides of the channel, as French protestors blocked traffic around a mile from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport early on Thursday morning, forcing travellers to walk.

British Airways grounded around 20 flights that would have used French airspace as nationwide air traffic control strikes erupted across France.

Meanwhile, long queues have already formed for ferries at the port of Dover, with operator DFDS tweeting that the wait for passport checks by French officials is “up to 90 minutes”.

Coach firms ‘treated unfairly’ during Dover disruption

Thursday 6 April 2023 12:48 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Coach operators have claimed their vehicles were “treated unfairly” after thousands of passengers were stranded at the Port of Dover for up to 24 hours over the weekend.

Trade association the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) called for “crisis talks” with the Government, the Kent port and ferry companies to “resolve this mess once and for all”.

Many holidaymakers travelling by coach during the weekend – the start of the Easter holiday period for many schools – were delayed entering the port and being processed.

The queues had cleared by Monday morning but there are fears the congestion could return during other peak periods due to French border officials carrying out extra checks and stamping UK passports following Brexit.

Coach firms ‘treated unfairly’ during Dover disruption

Travel disruption rips through France as queues build at Dover port

Thursday 6 April 2023 12:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

As well as delays at the Port of Dover, a general strike in France in a row over pension reforms is causing further travel disruption.

Many flights to, from and over France have been grounded due to air traffic controllers joining the walkout.

British Airways axed at least 20 flights which would have used French airspace on Thursday.

Eurostar cancelled a train in both directions between London and Paris.

Meanwhile, drivers have been warned to expect long delays on popular routes over the coming days.

The RAC is predicting that up to 17 million leisure trips by car will take place between Good Friday and Easter Monday.

Major roads in south-west England and some in the Home Counties are likely to experience the worst congestion on Good Friday.

Queues are likely to be increased by engineering work on the railways, including the closure of London Euston station over the bank holiday weekend.

How deluded must you be to believe Dover wasn’t about Brexit (now even No10 admits it)

Thursday 6 April 2023 12:09 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The more the likes of Suella Braverman try to gaslight us to believe otherwise, the more insult is added to economic injury, Sean O’Grady writes.

In a crowded field, there is no other figure in public life who lives in a bubble of their own making to the same extent as Suella Braverman. Quite apart from the abject folly and failures of her Rwanda policy, her statements around grooming gangs and her economically illiterate attitude to migration, we find she is also suffering from the Brexit Delusion. No surprise, there.

According to the home secretary, who never seems quite on top of her brief, the massive queues at Dover are nothing at all to do with Brexit:

“No, I don’t think that’s fair to say that this has been an adverse effect of Brexit. We’ve had many years now since leaving the European Union and there’s been, on the whole, very good operations and processes at the border.”

How deluded must you be to believe Dover queues were not about Brexit? | Sean O’Grady

Dover port chief contradicts Brexiteer MPs who blamed France for coach delays

Thursday 6 April 2023 11:52 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The boss of the Port of Dover has contradicted claims by senior Tory MPs that French frontier officials were responsible for border hold-ups at the start of the Easter school holidays.

Doug Bannister, chief executive of the UK’s main departure point for continental Europe, said the Police aux Frontieres had been “very, very good” at responding to the build-up of traffic last weekend.

Tens of thousands of travellers queued for 12 hours or more ahead of ferry journeys to France as a post-Covid surge of coach trips came up against tougher post-Brexit border checks.

After the backlog was cleared in the early hours of Monday morning, Tim Loughton – a former chair of the home affairs select committee – blamed short staffing among French border officials.

Out travel correspondent Simon Calder reports:

Dover port chief contradicts Brexiteer MPs who blamed France for coach delays

In pictures: Traffic queues at Port of Dover as Easter getaways begin

Thursday 6 April 2023 11:44 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

As Easter weekend gets underway, the RAC is predicting that up to 17 million leisure trips by car will take place between Good Friday and Easter Monday.

Queues of around 90 minutes at Dover ahead of Easter weekend

Thursday 6 April 2023 11:41 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Holidaymakers booked on cross-Channel ferries from the Port of Dover are facing delays at the start of the Easter getaway.

There are queues of “approximately 90 minutes” for passport checks by French officials at the Kent port, ferry operator DFDS wrote on Twitter.

The company told passengers: “Unfortunately due to high volumes of traffic there are queues at border controls.

“Once you arrive at check-in we will get you away as quick as we can.”

In response, one passenger wrote: “We have been standing for 50 minutes. No movement whatsoever.”

There are fears travellers at Dover will face more disruption after chaotic scenes last weekend when thousands of people were delayed, reportedly 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.

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.

Additional “temporary border control infrastructure” has also been installed.

Transport minister Richard Holden described last weekend’s conditions at Dover as “unacceptable”.

He told Sky News: “I don’t want to see kids on coaches or families in cars queueing up and waiting unnecessarily long periods of time.”

Asked who should apologise for the situation, he added: “The port have made it clear that there is a difficult situation there, but there were some weather-related issues in the Channel as well, and there are going to be pinch points at peak times of the year, and small things can knock those best-laid plans off as well.”

Welcome...

Thursday 6 April 2023 11:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

...to our liveblog where we will keep you updated on the latest on Dover travel.