- Hundreds of families travelling for a bank holiday break are experiencing significant delays and gridlock at the Port of Dover due to the introduction of new EU border checks.
- Ferry passengers face waits of at least 90 minutes at the port for border checks, with many reporting an additional two-hour wait just to access the port, causing "total gridlock" on surrounding roads like the M20 and A2.
- The delays are attributed to the new EU Entry-Exit System (EES), which requires fingerprints and photographs, with French border police currently processing travellers manually as the full system is not yet installed at Dover.
- Saturday is anticipated to be the Port of Dover's busiest day of the year, with over 8,000 travellers, coinciding with unusually high May temperatures reaching 25 degrees and an amber heat alert for the South East.
- Travellers, such as Rosamund Hall, described the situation as "laughable" and "static," with Simon Calder, The Independent's travel correspondent, observing thousands of cars backed up, indicating a processing rate far below the usual 800 cars per hour.
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