Roads approaching the Port of Dover were congested on Friday morning
By Shola Lee
BBC News, South East
Travellers heading to the Port of Dover are facing long queues following a walkout by French workers.
Port officials said “exceptionally heavy traffic” was causing delays for passengers making their Christmas getaway across the Channel.
Port chief executive Doug Bannister said there was a “big surge” in traffic after a Eurotunnel walkout Thursday.
“Probably we’ll see slow traffic through early afternoon and then it’ll start to ease off from there,” he said.
Mr Bannister said ferry operators laid on extra sailings overnight.
The port attributed delays to a surge in demand for ferries after the walkout saw the Channel Tunnel rail link closed on Thursday.
The port says travellers are facing a 90-minute wait ahead of the French border checks in Dover.
Mr Bannister says traffic is moving through the border controls “quite smoothly”.
The Port of Dover said: “We apologise but only drivers and their passengers with advance [ferry] bookings will be able to travel.”
Image source, BBC/Michael Keohan
The port asked people to travel using main routes like the A2 and A20 to avoid causing congestion for Dover residents
Kent County Council’s highways and transportation strategic resilience manager, Toby Howe, says many people are “working very hard” to clear the area.
Mr Howe told BBC Radio Kent: “We’ve had far more pouring into Dover than was able to get out.”
He explained the port had opened all of its French customs booths, but there was a “huge backlog of traffic” with over 400 lorries on the A20 heading towards Dover.
Mr Howe says as soon as the ferries can carry freight and tourists out they will “start to clear” the area.
Kent Police temporarily closed junctions eight and nine of the M20 on Thursday to be used as a lorry holding area, following the suspension of Eurotunnel services.
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