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Port of Dover bosses report delays of up to two-hours

11:19, 07 July 2023

updated: 13:54, 07 July 2023

Travellers heading to Europe are facing up to two-hour delays at the Port of Dover.

Processing times for lorries are delayed by 120 minutes, and 90 minutes for cars at the French border.

Traffic often builds up at the port during peak travel days
Traffic often builds up at the port during peak travel days

As such, bosses at the port are warning passengers of the “strong volumes of tourist traffic” on the Kent side.

In a message to waiting passengers, the port stated: “Today is already proving a popular travel day at Dover, and the port is busy processing strong volumes of tourist traffic.

“Teams from the port, Police aux Frontieres and our ferry operators are working to get you through as swiftly as possible.”

P&O Ferries warned drivers to “arrive prepared and carry spare bottles of water with you”.

Dover TAP, designed to stop the port town being clogged up with traffic, has been put in place for lorries.

This involves freight traffic queuing on the left hand land of the A20 until there is space for them at the port.

Ferry operator DFDS said customers who miss their booked departure will be put on the next available sailing.

Bosses say there are delays of up to two hours today for passengers. Stock picture: Ralph Lombart
Bosses say there are delays of up to two hours today for passengers. Stock picture: Ralph Lombart

Delays at the port are a regular occurrence; passengers were stuck on coaches for more than 10 hours at the start of the Easter school holiday period.

Delays in processing passengers have been blamed on French border officials carrying out extra checks and stamping UK passports following Brexit.

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