Days of cross-Channel delays as port disruption continues
Drivers have faced days of severe disruption on Kent’s roads as cross-Channel delays continue.
Reduced ferry services caused by the P&O saga, coupled with increased demand from people on Easter holidays, plus a broken down train in the Channel Tunnel, has resulted in frustrating waits for passengers.
On Tuesday morning, there were delays of up to two hours on DFDS Seaways between Dover and Calais and Dover and
Dunkerque and waits of up to an hour for freight using Eurotunnel at Folkestone.
P&O Ferries’ services between Dover and Calais remain suspended, after the company’s controversial sacking of 800 staff on March 17.
And DFDS tweeted to say it has no availability this weekend for P&O customers who had been advised to use its services.
It said: “DFDS has no availability for P&O customers between 08 April 00:01 and 10 April 23:59. Please do not proceed to port without a confirmed reservation, contact P&O Ferries for alternative travel arrangements.”
Hundreds of lorries were caught up in Operation Brock on the M20 between Junctions 8 and 9.
And Dover TAP was put in place on the A20 from the Roundhill Tunnel to help manage the traffic heading to Dover, where HGVs are queuing.
Meanwhile, Easter getaways were further hampered when EasyJet flights were cancelled at Gatwick Airport on Monday due to crew shortages, along with some BA flights from Heathrow.
Dover MP Natalie Elphicke, Kent County Council leader Cllr Roger Gough and Dover District Council leader Cllr Trevor Bartlett held an emergency meeting with Baroness Vere, the roads minister, in Parliament, to discuss the problems.
She committed to reviewing Dover TAP and the Kent-wide response following the chaos.
Ms Elphicke said: “Once again the events of the last few days have highlighted the need for more road capacity and better traffic management for Dover.
“It is welcome that the Minister has agreed to review the operational performance of these emergency measures given their severe impact on local residents.”
Cllr Gough said: “Traffic problems and lack of road resilience is not simply a problem for Dover, it is affecting growth and mobility right across the county of Kent.
“It’s high time it is addressed – the trade corridor through Kent is of vital strategic importance to the country as a whole.
“Kent County Council have set out the need for road resilience and additional traffic management powers. It is vital that this is now taken forward.”