Ferry passengers stuck in six-hour waits at Calais while returning to UK
Ferry passengers have spoken of their travel misery after waiting in six hour queues to cross the English Channel.
Travellers returning to the UK were hit with huge delays on Saturday as Border Force staff went on strike after being offered just a 2% pay rise.
Children and teachers returning from half-term school trips were among those caught in the queues, with one mum describing a "gruelling" end to an overnight journey.
Parents took to social media revealing parties who had planned to board at Calais as early as 8.30 this morning were still waiting in France in the afternoon.
One mum tweeted: “Thirty hour journey last week travelling to Austria due to delays and 23 hrs since leaving Austria they are still stuck at Calais! Arrived at about 10.30 this morning.
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“Fingers crossed they can get on the 10.45pm! It’s a good job she had a fab time!”
Border Force staff have gone on strike over pay, which in turn has led to major delays at Dover (PA)Another parent said: “Although I’m all for strike action, [my daughter] is not coping well with the delay at Calais. Been travelling since 6pm yesterday and at Calais since noon.”
Teachers at Chew Valley School in Bristol, who had been travelling back following a half-term school ski trip, said they had been travelling through Friday night after leaving Italy, and were now expected to get back in the early hours of Sunday.
"We were not able to get on the 18:40 crossing and therefore all three coaches are waiting in the queue," one teacher said.
"There will be little to update until we board a ferry. Apologies if this does cause a delay. We are currently still hopeful we will not be too late".
Wellsway School in Bristol tweeted that students returning from a ski trip had missed their scheduled ferry from Calais due to the long queues for passport control, while Langley Park School for Girls in Bromley, south-east London, said they were making “very slow progress” at the port.
DFDS Ferries said coach passengers should expect six-hour delays at Calais due to “high volumes of traffic”.
P&O Ferries tweeted: “There are still large queues of up to 6hr 30mins at border control in the Port of Calais for coaches.
“There are limited toilet facilities, we recommend stopping en route.
“Please come prepared with refreshments to make your wait more comfortable.”
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Car traffic was delayed by up to an hour at Calais earlier on Saturday, but had cleared by the evening.
Passengers were caught in huge queues (file photo) (PA)Border Force warned passengers last week that travellers could face delays on arriving at UK ports and urged them to check with the operator before beginning their journey.
Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union working at French ports began industrial action over pay on Friday, with strikes due to continue until Monday morning.
The Border Force added that the military, civil servants and volunteers had been trained to step in, keep borders safe and minimise disruption.
A PCS spokesperson said: “While we sympathise with travellers experiencing delays, the blame lies squarely with the Government. Rishi Sunak has had months to resolve this dispute but refuses to meet us. He can end the strikes tomorrow if he puts some money on the table.
“Until he does, our strikes will continue because it is unacceptable that hard-working civil servants are being told to accept just a 2% pay rise during a cost-of-living crisis when inflation is at 10%.”
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