London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Port of Dover working to clear backlog ‘overnight’ as travellers face 14-hour waits

Port of Dover working to clear backlog ‘overnight’ as travellers face 14-hour waits

Frustrated passengers have described the situation at the port as ‘carnage’ and ‘a shambles’

Officials at the Port of Dover are working through night to try and clear a backlog of traffic that has left some travellers stuck for as long as 14 hours.

The port’s chief executive said on Saturday evening he hoped the issue would be resolved by Sunday morning, adding that ferry operators are “laying on additional sailings overnight to try and accomplish that”.

The long delays began on Friday, leading port officials to declare a critical incident.

Strong winds, “lengthy French border processes, and sheer volume” of Easter holiday coach traffic were cited as reasons for the delays.

Tavellers told of their disappointment after being stranded at the port for many hours, describing the situation as “carnage” and “a shambles”.



 Port of Dover chief executive Doug Bannister on Saturday apologised for the disruption, and said he hoped the backlog would be cleared “overnight or into [Sunday] morning”.


He told Sky News that while the port had been planning for months for the Easter holidays, it had seen 15 per cent more coaches than it had prepared for, while poor weather conditions on Friday had exacerbated the issue.

Speaking to BBC News on Saturday evening, he said: “My ops team is anticipating that we will get through all the backlog, including all the people that wanted to travel today, overnight.

“The ferry operators are laying on additional sailings overnight to try and accomplish that, so hopefully by about midday tomorrow we’ll be back to normal operations.”

Dafydd Francis, a PE teacher from Seven Sisters in south Wales, was left waiting in traffic for more than 14 hours.

Mr Francis, who was travelling to Austria with 14 children and 18 other adults, said the experience left him “shell-shocked”.

His group arrived at the port at 11pm on Friday and were still waiting to board a ferry on Saturday lunchtime.

“(I’ve) never seen anything like this,” said Mr Francis, 49. “We will arrive at the resort 14 hours late if we are lucky…I have organised various trips since 1998 for school and family and friends, approximately 50 trips. We will fly next time.”


Rosie Pearson, who was stuck at the Port of Dover for 16 hours from Friday to Saturday, described the situation as “carnage”.

The 50-year-old was travelling with her family from Essex to the French Alps on an overnight bus.

It was due to arrive at 2.15pm on Saturday, but Ms Pearson, her husband and two teenagers will now not make it until 6am on Sunday due to the delays in Dover.

“The whole thing was a shambles…Not a single bit of communication,” Ms Pearson said.

“It was carnage…The worst thing was that no-one told us anything for the whole 16 hours, literally nothing.

“[We are] very tired but people are resigned now and relieved to be en route…Shocking that something this chaotic can happen.”

P&O Ferries has also apologised for the wait times for coaches sailing from Dover, while DFDS said it is expecting a busy weekend and advised passengers to allow extra time to complete border and check-in controls.

P&O Ferries tweeted on Saturday that it was providing refreshments to coach passengers waiting at the cruise terminal and working on getting food and drink to passengers waiting in the buffer zone at the entrance to the port.


 The Port of Dover said in a statement on Saturday: “The Port of Dover is deeply frustrated by last night’s and this morning’s situation and particularly so on behalf of all the ferry operators’ coach passengers who have had to endure such a long wait at the port.


“Whilst freight and car traffic was processed steadily regardless of the additional challenging weather conditions and high seasonal volumes, coach traffic suffered significant delays due to lengthy French border processes and sheer volume.

“Despite considerable pre-planning with our ferry operators, border agency partners and the Kent Resilience Forum and the success of similar plans for processing substantial numbers of coaches during the most recent half term period, the additional coach bookings taken by ferry operators for Easter, has impacted operations for the port.

“Through the ferry operators and the port, food and drink has been provided to those coach passengers caught up in the border queues.

“We offer our sincere apologies for the prolonged delays that people have endured and continue to work with all of our partners to get all passengers on their way as quickly as possible.”


Sir Keir Starmer urged the Government to “get a grip” of the situation at Dover.

“I really feel for people trying to get through Dover. There will have been families who have booked holidays and now they are frustrated yet again and I think the nature of the frustration will be ‘not again’,” he said.

“This is not the first time there have been problems at Dover. The Government needs to get a grip of this.

“You can’t have every summer holiday, every Easter holiday, the same old problem. And so the Government needs to get a grip on this and actually help people out in who are just trying to get away for a few days holiday.”

A Government spokesperson said: “The UK Government remains in close contact with ferry operators, the French authorities, and the Kent Resilience Forum, regarding delays at the Port of Dover.

“The port has advised that it remains busy, but the situation has improved significantly since yesterday, with coaches being processed at a much quicker rate.

“We recommend passengers check the latest advice from their operators before travelling.”

DFDS Seaways announced on Twitter just after 9pm that the wait time for coaches was approximately seven hours from arrival at the port.

A spokesperson for the operator said: “The queues at Dover today have been as a result of bad weather causing delays to sailings, combined with high volumes of traffic, and particularly coach groups.

“DFDS is working to keep passengers up to date via its website and social media channels, and is transporting passengers on the next available sailing once they have checked in.

“It has also been working with coach operators to speed up the check in process for coach passengers.”

Many families heading to Europe for Easter have chosen take ferry and train journeys across the English Channel to avoid expected strike chaos at UK airports.

Planned journeys by ferry have risen by 25 per cent compared to this time last year, Brittany Ferries said.

Eurotunnel also said its bookings were “significantly” up on last Easter, with yesterday the busiest day of the year as schools broke up.

On the roads, the AA has predicted up to 15 million car trips a day will be made this weekend, with an increase on last year’s numbers expected if warmer weather returns

Meanwhile, travel plans for thousands of Britons have been plunged into turmoil by strikes by French air traffic controllers and Heathrow Airport security staff.

Members of the Unite union, including security officers at London Heathrow Terminal 5 and campus security guards who check cargo entering the airport, walked out yesterday in a dispute over pay.

Scores of flights have been cancelled as a result of the industrial action, which involves 1,400 staff members and will last until Easter Sunday on April 9.

Heathrow has said that it is implementing “contingency plans” and drafting 1,000 extra staff into terminals to cope with the impact of the strikes.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×