Eurotunnel queues: AA says holiday gridlock easingon July 24, 2022 at 5:27 pm

There are signs of an easing in the gridlock that has frustrated holidaymakers and hauliers trying to cross the Channel in recent days.

The AA motoring group says the time to reach the check-in desk at the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone, Kent, is now under two hours.

It suggests that if congestion continues to ease, traffic could be back to normal by mid to late evening.

It follows three days of tailbacks at the Port of Dover and Folkestone.

Overnight, people reported sleeping in cars on the road as the approach to the Eurotunnel remained gridlocked.

One tired family said the last three miles of their journey took 21 hours.

Traffic in Dover has eased and it is taking 30 minutes to get through passport control, P&O Ferries said.

The M20 motorway through Kent to the south coast is closed to cars from Maidstone to Folkestone because of Operation Brock, which sees lorries park on the road.

With the motorway shut, car drivers have diverted to smaller roads which get jammed and cause miles of tailbacks.

The Kent Resilience Forum, which co-ordinates the county’s emergency planning, has been sending food and drink to people stuck in long traffic queues around Folkestone.

Andrew Dyer-Smith and his family, who have travelled to France for their summer holiday, spent 21 hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic on roads around Folkestone.

“We arrived at Folkestone at 9am yesterday morning for a train at 10.30 and then have been slowly crawling along for the last 21-plus hours,” he told the BBC.

He said his children in the backseat were dishevelled but had managed some sleep, while he and his wife had taken the wheel in shifts to snatch some rest.

While speaking live to the BBC, the family erupted in cheers as they were finally able to board the train.

John Keefe, Eurotunnel’s director of public affairs, said he was confident the “bit we manage” – from check-in to departure – was working.

“The roads outside are beyond our remit. We’re responsible for managing the service – it’s the only place we have any responsibility, any authority,” he said.

He said passengers were always told to turn up 30 minutes to two hours before departure to ensure they got on.

But one frustrated listener said it took four hours to get on a train, on top of 15 hours trying to move five miles outside Folkestone.

“They left us on those roads – elderly, those with disabilities, families, children,” she said.

“The children were getting into their pyjamas at the side of the road and brushing their teeth where every man, woman and child had been using the bathroom.”

She added that the queues on the A20 coming into the terminal were all Eurotunnel’s passengers with no water, no facilities, nothing. “We were treated worse than cattle,” she said.

Problems began on Friday, and a major incident was declared as routes around the Kent terminals became gridlocked.

On Sunday, Eurotunnel was expecting 7,000 cars to cross, slightly down on the 8,500 cars on Saturday.

The Port of Dover was also expected to be busy with 6,500 cars due to make the crossing, down from 10,000 the previous day.

By mid-morning on Sunday, the port said it had cleared the backlog of tourist passengers and was running as normal.

On the M20, many of the lorries have been released but 600 still remain, according to the Kent Resilience Forum.

Operation Brock involves EU-bound lorries parking on an M20 carriageway until space becomes available for a Channel crossing on the ferry from Dover or on the Eurotunnel.

Steve Gooding, of the RAC Foundation, blamed the operation for “massive disruption” and called for government investment for extra lorry parking.

Natalie Chapman, from haulier group Logistics UK, said some lorry drivers had waited for “well over 18 hours” in queues over the weekend with no toilet facilities.

Kent County Council and the Road Haulage Association also want the government to build more lorry parks. The Department for Transport said it was investing more than £30m to improve facilities in England.

The Dover delays led to a war of words between French and UK officials.

The UK government said French authorities failed to provide enough border staff to check passports.

But French Transport Minister Clement Beaune rejected this and highlighted additional border checks brought on by Brexit.

Father-of-three Manesh Luthra left Essex with his family for their summer holiday at 4am on Saturday.

Within two hours, they were just outside the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone, and were hopeful they would make their 7.50am shuttle.

But, as he tells the BBC: “We joined the back of the queue for what was the worst 21 hours experienced.

“We moved metres in hours.”

His family wanted to give up at times because there was no information, support or supplies, he said.

Other drivers were cutting into the queue, he adds. “It was savage, I was worried there would be an accident.”

The family eventually got to France at 10pm and travelled two more hours, but were so exhausted they stopped overnight at a hotel in Rouen, northern France.

On Sunday morning, they set off again. “I’m calm now but at various points we all broke down,” says Manesh.

Has your journey been affected by the delays crossing the Channel? You can share your experience by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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