Since Brexit came into force, the controversial divorce of the United Kingdom from the EU, the images of long lines of vehicles in the port of Dover are already a habit. Freight trucks join tourists and, since the British officially left the Union, products have been subjected to customs procedures and travelers to stricter passport control. Up to 16 hours have come to wait to cross.
However, the British authorities are unable to recognize that the United Kingdom’s departure from the EU be to blame for these delays. Thus, after three days of chaos and endless queues in the port of Dover, in the south of England, the British Home Secretary, Suella Bravermandenied this Sunday that the long bus lines that have been registered since Friday are the fault of Brexit, despite the fact that the port cites the slowness in completing customs procedures as one of the causes.
“I do not think it is correct to say that this has been an adverse effect of Brexit“, affirmed in an interview with “Sky News” Braverman, where he assured that the situation is “improving” and asked “patience” to the people who wait for board a ferry to Francesome of which have reached spend 16 hours in the queue.
Channel ferry companies arranged additional departures overnight to eliminate the delay of up to 16 hours affecting passengers traveling from the UK to France.
Despite the additional measures at the port of Dover ensured that coach passengers could still face waits of up to eight hours before being able to board a ferry.
“The additional exits have helped to clear some of the traffic, although currently both DFDS and P&O have two lanes full of coaches in the port before French border controls, with a processing time of around 4.5 hours,” a spokesperson said. from the port to AFP.
“Once the coaches are processed in an operator’s lane, more are sent to the port. Currently, the estimated total time is six to eight hours,” he added.
As reported by EFE, the port continues to send buses to a nearby waiting area to avoid blocking the roads, while passenger cars face about an hour and a half in line to pass customs controls and access the boarding area.
Operators cite slow passport controls and a higher than expected number of buses at the start of the school holiday period as main causes of the delays, as bad weather across the English Channel in previous days has forwarded.
P&O Ferries apologized to customers on Sunday, saying some will face waits of four to five hours.
Braverman told Sky News that some delays were to be expected at peak holiday times.
“I think we have a particular combination of factors that have occurred right now. But it is a very busy time of year,” insisted the minister as long as she did not blame Brexit.
However, it is not the first time it has happened. In July of last summer, the images of the lines of cars and trucks were repeated, not to mention the first Christmas after Brexit, when dozens of truckers were left without spending Christmas with their families due to border chaos.
Last summer, the British government blamed France for not adequately staffing its border posts at the port of Dover, after two days of long delays for all travellers, accusations that Paris denied.
French lawmakers said checks are now longer because Britain has “third country” status as it no longer belongs to the EU, and urged improvements to the Dover facility.
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