Travel Disruptions at Dover Hit Skiers Heading to the Alps
1st April 2023
Last modified on April 3rd, 2023
Crossings are back to normal at Dover when delays at the border compounded by bad weather. The backlog has now been cleared. The Eurotunnel service ran smoothly. UPDATED
Coach passengers faced many hours of delays with some held up for 14-hours.
On Sunday evening the situation had eased but problems still remained.
By Monday morning the situation was described as back to normal with the buffer zone emptied of traffic waiting to be processed.
One driver taking a group of school children from Wales to Austria for a ski holiday said they had been in the vehicle for 14-hours.
Some passengers who arrived on Saturday were still stuck at the port on Sunday morning.
There were waiting times of up to to six hours at the port entrance, and that coaches were being sent to a “buffer zone” ahead of check-in.
Changes since Brexit mean all UK passports have to be individually checked and stamped by French border officials.
Coach traffic has been hardest hit due to a recent surge in bookings.
Oliver Quigley-Brown, who is travelling to France for a university ski trip, told the BBC he had been warned that he faced a 14-hour delay.
He said he had seen “a lot of stressed teachers” at the port, estimating there could be “thousands” of people from school and university groups stuck there.
Authorities had provided them with snacks and water, Mr Quigley-Brown said, but he added: “I don’t think they’d anticipated the kind of delays we’re seeing.”
Many other coaches have people bound for Easter ski trips to the Alps.
Dafydd Francis, a PE teacher from Neath in South Wales, was part of a group of 33 children and adults who arrived at the port at 2300 BST Friday – and were still waiting to board 14 hours later.
He said he was “shell-shocked” by the delay. “We will arrive at the resort 14 hours late if we are lucky,” he said to the BBC.
Parent Claire Bryant, whose 12-year-old daughter is on her first-ever ski trip with fellow pupils from Cardiff’s Radyr Comprehensive, said their “nightmare” began on Friday at 18:00 BST and continued on Saturday.
Ms Bryant said the pupils had since crossed the Channel but were now waiting for an additional driver in Reims, as their current driver had reached his driving hours’ limit.
“They should be skiing right now – instead they’re at Burger King,” she said.
“It was supposed to be a 20-hour journey. I don’t know how long it will be for a replacement driver.”
The UK’s border with the EU and France is at Dover so the build-up occurs on this side of the Channel.
There are reported to be no serious delays at the Eurotunnel terminal.
Border controls. Image © PlanetSKI
In Dover cars are passing through the port without serious problem and freight traffic is being ‘processed steadily’, said the port authorities.
However outside the port itself many approach roads in the town are blocked and some have called it ‘total gridlock’.
A spokesperson said: “The Port of Dover can confirm that a critical incident is under way as the port is currently experiencing high volumes of coach traffic due to the Easter holidays.
“Our present high volumes, combined with extended processing at border controls, has resulted in lengthy delays for coach passengers.
“The port, ferry operators and other partners are working hard to resolve the current issue.
“We apologise for the inconvenience these delays may have caused to passenger journeys and thank all port users for their patience at this time.”
The UK Foreign Office issued a fresh travel warning due to another day of planned France strikes next week.
Unions called for another strike for 6th April, which could impact the busy Easter weekend holiday.
“Coordinated strike action is next planned for 6 April. It may start the evening before the strike day and run for several days,” the FCO said.
“You should monitor the media and check the latest advice with operators before travelling.”
“Avoid demonstrations and follow the advice of local authorities.”
“Spontaneous protests in central Paris and elsewhere have been staged since the middle of March.”
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