Port of Dover Critical Incident

[AndreaC74]

Why are we blaming the french? they didn't vote for Brexit and aren't responsible for increasing/paying for extra capacity at the French border posts on UK soil.

Stamping passports is what happens to 3rd country nationals & that adds time, a lot of it, when dealing with 100s of '000s of passengers, plus having recently been to France, i ve seen UK people arguing with French officials because they don't want their passports stamped!

The UK seems incapable of organising anything at the moment, the numbers travelling across the channel is entirely predictable and delays we are now seeing were talked about pre 2016, i remember seeing the graphs on how long the queues would be for just a few seconds of delay for each passenger.... all Project Fear.

The latter quite often results in long delays at immigration, especially at peak times, especially at some very busy ports of entry (JFK, SYD), even when all the booths are manned up

And we have a hard border coupled with ferry crossings - so that just makes things even harder.

At land crossings, vehicles turn up at all times of the day and not just to time with the ferry crossings.

The ferry crossing in Dover is relatively small for the volume of traffic and the intensity of the proposed checks.

Still, I am sure this Government can work co-operatively with the French to find a sensible solution

These type of incidents happened before, and can occur for a variety of reasons. I've experienced it!

However, as a result of Brexit, we should expect more frequent border related issues going forward. The only way to mitigate for these is to negotiate in good faith with the EU (it takes both sides to engage!).

This would certainly put me off travelling to France by certain methods at certain times, and never with small kids.

It's a mess, and likely to get worse before it gets better, but part of what the majority voted for.

@notimagain well it’s going to depend on
what EU country you go to given that Spain and Portugal have allowed E Gates to be used. I have been to Lisbon and JFK this year and they were most definitely not in the same category. Lisbon - scanned pasport through E Gate, held out passport to be stamped on way past border control person at desk after E Gate. Job done! JFK - usual US immigration crap including bloody stupid questions such as are my 8 and 11 year old students?!!!

Could be worse

Could you imagine every traveller being asked if they have enough money for their stay, where they are going, have they got return tickets?

Which is what they could do. I am sure we could do the same to EU passengers wanting to enter the UK from Channel ports in the EU

It isn't just the stamping of passports, it's all the questions that now go along with it. What is the purpose of your stay, how long are you staying for, can you prove where you are staying etc etc which all takes more time. This was not necessary before Brexit so anybody claiming it has nothing to do with Brexit is still deeply mired in denial. I guess that's probably helpful right now given the shit state of the country and a handy way of avoiding responsibility for the consequences of your choice that others who did not want this are having to deal with.

Spite? I expect they think Brexit was a pretty spiteful act.

I think some people forgot when they voted that we are not a self-sufficient island - we are reliant on the outside world to help keep us fed and provide us with resources. Brexit was a vote to hem us all in, every bit as much as it was a vote to keep everyone else out ( except for the super wealthy elite, of course, who have their own routes in and out). It was a vote to diminish our status and freedom within Europe and to reduce the quality of life of all but the super-rich - a levelling down under the guise of a promise from a known liar to level up.

Yes, I think so did the majority of the others who voted leave. Brexit was won by racists.

And the Tories are going to give us Truss as PM. It beggars belief. You’d think after Boris it couldn’t get any worse re the levels of shafting this party is prepared to do our country as a whole but no it keeps on coming.

It’s so very sad for younger generations.

jgw1 · Yesterday 10:31
Well I voted for ending freedom of movement to stop foreigners coming here and taking our jobs and living on benefits. I did not vote to make any changes for me going on holiday.

But nobody in the U.K. wants those jobs as highlighted by the huge gaps in several areas of employment. The head of Ryan Air was saying yesterday he desperately needs “ foreigners” to fill positions so it is changing you going on holiday. Airport situation at the moment isn’t that peachy either.

I hope there are some Tory MPs who voted for this stuck in the queue with screaming kids in the back.

Just so they can realise the reality of this

www.bbc.com/news/business-62221544.amp

The only way to mitigate for these is to negotiate in good faith with the EU (it takes both sides to engage!).

Good faith when one of the sides is happy to break international law?

It's not Brexit per se, it's the french who are still trying to punish us for walking away. A spokesman today for the Dover port said they had built additional booths to cope with the extra checks, but the french were not sending the officers to police them. The french also lied about a 'major incident' in the channel tunnel, which diverted officers there, but the owners said the incident was minor and hadn't needed additional policing.

Exactly the same as allowing small boats onto the channel and risking the lives of migrants, and adding to our immigration problem.

Slow hand clap France.

But why should they? What a sense of entitlement. It’s the busiest time of year. We decided to increase the need for more manpower and the queues were always long if you’re not in the EU. Why shouldn’t they put limited resources into those countries who are in the EU with them?

‘It's not Brexit per se, it's the french who are still trying to punish us for walking away.’

Bwhahahahahah! English exceptionalism at its finish! 2 World Wars, 1 World Cup eh?!

UK refused to build more booths back in 2020 when they were warned this would happen if they didn’t. Maybe it’s the fault of the French that our government doesn’t listen to experts anymore?
www.ft.com/content/2a6662a0-975e-4bcd-9f5b-e241256db4df

How many more booths are in the process of being built in preparation for the tighter, more time consuming checks coming in later this year? You can't take everyone's finger prints through the car window.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-62273289

Listen to Simon Calder. This is the new reality. We voted for it.

Agree to some extent it's country dependent and/or airport dependent.
(like you I've arrived into Spain from UK and used e-gates)....there's a bit of discussion doing the rounds elsewhere about whether passports really have to always be physically stamped or not, but in any event the 90/180 requirement is monitored anyway as a result of passing through e-gates or the Border official swiping it through their reader...

I think the extra complication at many places such as Dover might be the amount of family travel (AFAIK in many places there's a minimum age limit for the e-gates) and also the issue that officials on ferry crossings are often dealing with passengers in cars, rather than lined up on foot, which I guess might complicate ID checking slightly.

Of course to add to the above there is the extra complication that having left the customs union and holiday traffic brings with it trailers, camper vans and caravans....As a result there's plenty of scope for processing getting more unwieldy and time consuming compared with previous years.

JFK - usual US immigration crap including bloody stupid questions such as are my 8 and 11 year old students?!!!

I feel your pain... I experienced the joys of US immigration at multiple airports many times over the years and the idea that anybody would contemplate volunteering UK passport holders to that style of processing when they travel to Europe .....🙄....Hopefully it will never get that extreme UK>EU or vice versa.

.

@jgw1

Really? I'm sure I've seen you around for a long time and you have always been a strident left (not sure how that squared with Corbyn/McDonnell etc who wanted to leave ) and a strident remainer?

Lots of people are replying to your post in good faith believing they have the characture of a brexiters in their paws.

Don't you feel bad?

Ah, It's all about "Meeeeeeeee"....

I really think some need to stop painting the UK as some sort of poor victim in all this, or thinking "the French"/"Mr Macron" spend their waking hours trying to spite the UK, or punish the Brits, because of Brexit. They don't.

Those who voted for Brexit need to own the consequences, not try to shirk them because most of the world including France, has moved on.

As far as the physical set up at Dover goes and booths, as I understand it the provision of physical infrastructure was down to the UK (as @Kidsaretryingtodestroyme points out).

If the border police (PAF) booths are all operational today then there is physically nothing more PAF can do to expedite traffic and maybe the builders need to be brought back in.

'Brexit was won by racists.'

Brexit was won by Gammony, Flag Waving, Sun Reading Racists to give them their full mn title.

bluegardenflowers ·
"It's not Brexit per se, it's the french who are still trying to punish us for walking away"

Of course it's Brexit, but those in the Brexshit cult won't lose face by admitting it.

Those who voted for Brexit need to own the consequences, not try to shirk them because most of the world including France, has moved on.

The one country that can never "move on" from Brexit is the UK. Never. Ever. (In much the same way we haven't "moved on" since 1066. Or 1536*)

Now Brexiteers would tell you (with a straight face, but smiling takes brain power) that it's "just the same" as the US never moving on from 1776, whereas the reality is more like the French Royal Family "moving on" from 1789.

History and geography - this post is almost pure Brexiteer Kryptonite !

(there are other styles from jgw1s 😁)

*(space for Brexiteers to go misty eyed about 1945. Or 1966 ...)

@CanaryShoulderedThorn @p1nkow1

jgw1 is trying to be funny. They seem to have posted on a tongues and cheek way.

they are a remainer being sarcastic?

@cakeorwine

But Corbyn etc also wanted brexit!

There is loads on this? So I guess Labour politician's will also be stuck in the queue?

It's all a nonsense and jgw1 is trying to be funny, I think you responded to the post,it's not even true