Port of Dover delays expected to last all weekend as busiest summer getaway in years plunged into chaos

‘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

One port source admitted it was likely the delays will run throughout the weekend and potentially into next week (Getty)

The busiest holiday weekend of the year was plunged into chaos on Friday as families were forced to wait for up to six hours at the Port of Dover because of “woefully inadequate” border control staffing, with the delays expected to run into early next week.

A “critical incident” was declared on Friday morning when officials from France’s Police Aux Frontieres (PAF) were late to open the port’s security checks, resulting in traffic queues that stretched for miles along the south coast of England.

With 18.8 million road journeys expected to take place throughout the UK this weekend – the first of the school summer holiday – those families, along with lorries hoping to cross the Channel, were told to arrive at least five hours before their departure time in order to have time to clear the border controls.