Port officials have warned the chaos at Dover will be repeated throughout the summer unless the French maintain an adequate number of passport officials.
Holidaymakers on Saturday faced waits of three or four hours to board ferries, and there were long tailbacks on roads leading to the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel.
However, traffic moved faster than on Friday, with Doug Bannister, the chief executive of the Port, saying long queues had been brought under control only after the French sent extra passport officers to man all 12 booths at the ferry terminal.
Now, as is who is to blame, dunno. But it wouldn’t surprise if it was in fact just a shortage of passport officers.
After all, we’ve been having the same problem in our own airports, haven’t we?
It’s Frenchy’s fault.
It’s a pain in the arse is what it is – all main roads around here are gridlocked and the locals are having to use single track country lanes to get around.
People reluctant to give up being paid to stay at home?
Thing is, it’s all the fault of Brexit apparently, as before we became a fascist country and used a democratic process to leave a customs union, the French officials only used to have to check passports. Now they need to check AND stamp them, which takes much longer due to the noodly thin effeminate arms of French passport officials.
There is a reason why commercial shipping sails past France to unload at Rotterdam etc.
A comment was made on GB News (yes, I do watch it, mainly for the wisdom of Neil Oliver and Mark Steyn), that the port of Dover, and it’s infrastructure, including the access routes, is now too small. What happened to Folkestone to Boulogne? Also, there are no reports whether the longer routes, from Portsmouth, Southampton, or Poole, are experiencing similar problems.
HHG
“French officials only used to have to check passports. Now they need to check AND stamp them”
Presumably they also have to go through the charade/spaz of checking everyone’s WEF passes (or negative tests for the Untermenschen)?
Penseivat
Problem with Folkestone is that it is now totally unsuitable for ro-ro ferries. It would mean a huge redevelopment to make it so. Boulogne also didn’t want the ferries back.
It’d probably be cheaper and easier to build an artificial port in Thanet.
Main issue with Folkestone is lack of a proper breakwater. In choppy weather it could take literally hours for the ferry to get alongside which does not make for a pleasant or economically viable operation. Same issue at Ramsgate.
Port of Dover is built on mainly reclaimed land at the foot of the cliffs so very limited options for expansion.
Samphire Hoe which is reclaimed land from the channel tunnel excavation would make a good 2nd terminal; out of town and sat right on top of the A20/M20.
The main losers (apart from the holidaymakers themselves) of the long queues and the consequent decision that a holiday in France just isn’t worth the cost and the hassle and the discomfort is the French tourist industry. So after enough outcries, someone in Macron’s bureaucracy has realised that they are shooting themselves in the foot and ordered French border control to staff all the passport booths at Dover.
Quelle surprise!
While one should hardly ever attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity, I feel that “never” has been refuted by the French response to Brexit (as well as by Putin).
Now they need to check AND stamp them
Do they really need to Stamp them?
Also, this “racist” question: If UK was still >99% white would anyone care who entered France from UK?
@john77
Is French passport control still at Dover? I thought they were moving the control points to the respective sides as part of the Great Brexit Fuck-It-Up project. Somebody seen sense?
@ bis
It seems that Brits have to have their passport checked before they get on the ferry – can’t let a passportless Brit onto French soil which would be possible if they checked them after disembarking at Calais. I suspect this is a response to UK requesting passport checks at Calais as anyone who got to Dover without a passport and visa would immediately claim asylum status whether he was in a first-class seat on Eurostar or the back of a lorry.
Now they need to check AND stamp them
Do they really need to Stamp them?
It does take time to select the most inconvenient page to stamp.