Cross-Channel ferry passengers will face waits of up to two and a half hours at Dover this weekend, the port has warned, as the peak holiday season gets under way.
Post-Brexit passport checks will significantly lengthen delays as holidaymakers head for France, despite a number of mitigation measures put in place by the port.
Queues are expected to build up between 6am and 1pm on the first weekend after most school holidays start in England and Wales, with more than 3,000 private cars expected before 10am on Saturday – more than five times the number expected this Tuesday.
The port has worked with coach operators to spread departures over less busy days, but car passengers planning to travel on Saturday and Sunday have been advised to arrive three hours before their booked departure.
Passengers should expect to wait 90 minutes on other busy summer days for border processing, according to the Port of Dover chief executive, Doug Bannister.
He said the port had “worked hard to ensure the best experience possible” for holidaymakers, with it used primarily by freight outside holiday periods. Additional booths have been put in place for French border officials while coaches are being diverted into another area for processing to reduce holdups.
“However,” Bannister added, “our modelling indicates that processing times may be up to two and a half hours during the peak hours of 6am to 1pm during the first couple of Saturdays and Sundays of the summer holidays, due to the extreme popularity of these days.”
Coaches were subject to severe delays at the start of the Easter holidays, with some waiting up to 10 hours. Border rules now mean all passengers’ passports are checked individually. A new system for checks on coach passengers, which was first introduced for the May half-term, will be used again through summer.
Vehicles can move swiftly through the port once border checks are complete, but Dover is limited physically by the town and the cliffs and has only a small holding area for queuing arrivals. The port has urged people not to arrive more than the advised three hours in advance, with passengers normally able to catch the next ferry if they miss their booked sailing.
Abby Penlington, the director of Discover Ferries, said it was the busiest travel weekend of the year, adding: “While Dover will undoubtedly be very busy due to the popularity of the route, everyone will be able to get away.”
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Bannister said Dover could often clear disruption quickly and was resilient but could not avoid queues on the busiest days.
Holidaymakers elsewhere in Britain are also expected to have a difficult weekend, with rail strikes on Thursday and Saturday severely disrupting trains, adding to expected getaway congestion on major roads.
