The Latest Breaking News from Port of Dover

‘Once you’ve lost control of the the queue, it’s hard to get it back’: Backlog set to run into early next week, officials say, as French and British authorities blame one another for travel chaos

The Port of Dover, Britain's main gateway to Europe, on Friday declared a 'critical incident' over long delays, blaming a lack of French customs officials for causing a bottleneck as holidaymakers left for summer breaks.

Those images of four-mile, six-hour long queues to get into and through the Port of Dover. They’re not quite the last helicopter out of Saigon, but they tell a story of their own.

Operators at the English Channel port of Dover on Friday accused French border officials of "ruining the start to the summer getaway", blaming understaffing for hours-long queues.

A ‘critical incident’ has been declared by the Kent port due to six-hour waits, with tourists urged to consider staying away.

The “great getaway” has not begun well. Holidaymakers, some of whom are going away for the first time since the pandemic, face vast queues to get into Port of Dover, with the facility’s chief executive blaming “woefully inadequate” staffing at French border control as officials declared a critical incident.

A “CRITICAL incident” has been declared at the Port of Dover amid reports of six-hour queues, with tourists urged to consider staying away.

French border controls described as 'woefully inadequate'

The scheme involves a barrier being used to create a contraflow between Junctions 8 and 9 of the M20.

The queues aren't expected to go away anytime soon

LFC fans are traveling by plane, coach, train and ferry to Paris