Port of Dover Christmas getaway delays due to IT issues in Calais

Long passenger queues formed at the Port of Dover, and these queues were blamed on IT problems at French border controls.

One traveler described the situation as “absolute chaos” and photographs of the port showed a long queue of vehicles stalled.

Eurotunnel also experienced delays at its Folkstone terminal on Saturday morning at the start of what is expected to be a peak Christmas getaway weekend.

Doug Bannister, Chief Executive of the Port of Dover, said: “There are some ongoing (IT) issues that have resulted in increased wait times when processing traffic.

“We are working with our partner agencies as we try to resolve these issues.”

The port, which expects around 30,000 cars to pass through by Sunday, reported at 11:00 GMT that it was taking an hour for cars to line up to enter the site.

One traveler posted on X: “Horrible experience in Dover Harbor this morning. Absolute chaos.

“Traffic stopped for an hour. Worst imaginable start to a holiday. We missed our boat. Still stuck. Kids in the car.”

One local resident told the BBC the town had been “necessarily slammed”.

The port advised passengers not to arrive more than two hours before departure.

It was stated that if customers miss their scheduled sailings due to waiting times, ferry operators will place them on the next available crossing.

Long queues formed on the roads leading to Dover.

A port spokesman asked for all port-bound traffic to remain on main roads “to allow the Dover community to travel to festive events and complete their Christmas shopping in the town”.

Eurotunnel said that due to “high demand” at the Folkestone terminal, there is a waiting time of 60 minutes for freight and 30 minutes for cars.

Meanwhile, public transportation operators are also experiencing problems in reaching the port.

Bus company Stagecoach said in a statement: “Due to heavy traffic at the ports the service will not be able to serve the Eastern Docks at this time.”