Easter travellers have been hit by nightmare delays this morning after an IT failure forced border officials to carry out manual passport checks.
Massive tailbacks have developed outside the Port of Dover this morning after passengers waiting to cross the English Channel were told a failure on the French side would keep them on British shores for the time being. The Dover Harbour Board bid people “safe travels” in a statement this morning as delays appeared set to only lengthen, with previous wait times clocking in at 45 minutes. The board said: “Tourist traffic is experiencing delays of up to one hour due to IT issues at French border control. Safe travels, everyone!”
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Frustrated travellers have taken to social media while waiting in their cars, with one user saying they were “nowhere near the booth” to make the crossing after 45 minutes of waiting. A second said they could see just two of the four lanes leading to the port moving, adding with some urgency that they were “going to miss our sailing” despite arriving in “plenty of time”.
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The delay at the Port of Dover has been reduced slightly to 45 minutes, local authorities have said, but issues remain at the crossing.
Port of Dover Travel said in an update on X this morning that passport checks will be “continuing manually” for the time being. The service said: “A 45-minute delay remains due to an IT fault at French border control. However, passport checks are continuing manually until the systems are fully restored.”
Today’s Port of Dover chaos follows the deployment of a traffic management system by National Highways.
The organisation has deployed Operation Brock ahead of the Easter getaway period – which will see millions of people head off on holiday – which will manage traffic flows on the M20 in the event of potential delays at Channel ports. They have seen already massive demand from holidaymakers today, with traffic management likely to be tested even when the IT glitch has been resolved.
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