Brexit finally ends channel Crossing

Caleo

I wonder why old Brits tend to FEEL British and younger Brits tend to FEEL European.

I'm definitely in the older group now and I FEEL more European than British. Unfortunately, it doesn't make me feel young.

mayisay

It could be because the young ones don't know any different Caleo.

It could be because they understand the arguments.

It could be because the young ones don't know any different Caleo.

It really is quite a simple, the new passport regulations which UK insisted upon, have caused extra time, a lot of extra time,to be put on getting passengers through Dover in particular. Unless you are Dominic Raab, you must realise that the Dover/Calais crossing is by far the busiest and cheapest way across ( the shortest too, I think) and also the most convenient for a lot of the population. Now, if you voted for Brexit, fair enough, but do please at least own this what I really hope you have found to be an unintended consequence of your vote. If you voted to leave knowing this was a likely to happen, well, I don't know what to say.

The comments regarding other super fast crossings miraculously experienced by the family of Brexiteers, is just as irritating as telling people who have desperate stories of medical negligence or inability to get a GP appt, just how marvellous your local practice is,

yes, we get it that it is not like this at every crossing, but that is of little use or comfort to those coachloads of teenagers and their teenagers spending 18 hours or so on a coach at Dover

I wonder why old Brits tend to FEEL British and younger Brits tend to FEEL European.

The argument for Brexit is lost - there is no rational reason as to why we should no longer be a member of the biggest most powerful trade bloc in the world.

I think this is the same story:

www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/the-british-government-rejected-a-33m-proposal-to-double-passport-booths-at-dover-in-2020-330342/

Siope

GrannyGravy13

Brexit requires all U.K. passports to be checked, fair enough.

Knowing this one would think that the French passport control would have deployed more border control personnel to ensure the operation runs smoothly.

Basic business logic, if you know you are going to be busy deploy more staff.

There is nowhere to put the staff! The British government turned down a French proposal for more booths and improved infrastructure in 2020. Commentators at the time pointed out this would inevitably lead to delays from 2021. This is a mess of British making.

www.ft.com/content/2a6662a0-975e-4bcd-9f5b-e241256db4df (archive, so not paywalled)

Yes

Sorry, but it is behind a paywall.

GrannyGravy13

Brexit requires all U.K. passports to be checked, fair enough.

Knowing this one would think that the French passport control would have deployed more border control personnel to ensure the operation runs smoothly.

Basic business logic, if you know you are going to be busy deploy more staff.

There is nowhere to put the staff! The British government turned down a French proposal for more booths and improved infrastructure in 2020. Commentators at the time pointed out this would inevitably lead to delays from 2021. This is a mess of British making.

www.ft.com/content/2a6662a0-975e-4bcd-9f5b-e241256db4df (archive, so not paywalled)

mayisay

What short memories some of you have. The French are notorious for blockading their ports, for one reason or another, even when we part of the EU!!!

Maybe they are, but that's not what they were doing over the weekend.

Enough with the xenophobia!

The UK border official flicked through every page of my passport before stamping it. The French one just stamped it.

growstuff

Freya5

Perhaps ferries taking more bookings they can manage, greed, along with intransigence of French border control does have much to add to this mix. Wonder how many French have the same problem coming into UK, non I guess, or you never hear about it. Think we just wave them through. Oh the rabid beurocracy of the EU. If they carry on, people will remember there are much nicer, and more welcoming countries we can visit.

I doubt it has anything to do with intransigence of French border control. I've just come back from a weekend in Paris. We went by train on Eurostar and border control/customs all went smoothly. If anything, the French officials were quicker than the UK ones. A teacher had 80 pupils with her and asked French border control to open a new gate just for them, which they did.

The issue is to do with coaches, where each passenger has to be checked individually. I've led loads of coaches through Dover/Calais and border control and customs usually just looked at the group leaders' passports, asked if we had any non-UK/EU nationals on board and waved us through. It wasn't like that in pre-EU days and it isn't now - surprise, surprise!

Yes.

School children going on holiday - many on a holiday of a life time have returned home - so sad for them and how upset they must be.

What short memories some of you have. The French are notorious for blockading their ports, for one reason or another, even when we part of the EU!!!

GrannyGravy13

Whitewavemark2

GrannyGravy13

Brexit requires all U.K. passports to be checked, fair enough.

Knowing this one would think that the French passport control would have deployed more border control personnel to ensure the operation runs smoothly.

Basic business logic, if you know you are going to be busy deploy more staff.

Just like last year -it is the cheapest quicker crossing and used by coaches in particular.

I agree it’s the cheapest, but Easter holidays have not just been invented, it is down to not enough man/woman power to do the job of passport checks,

It is not rocket science, the ferry companies knew they would be busy, the French Border Control knew they would be busy deploy more staff simples.

There were plenty at St Pancras and Gare du Nord. We got through French border control more quickly than we got through UK border control.

GrannyGravy13

Brexit requires all U.K. passports to be checked, fair enough.

Knowing this one would think that the French passport control would have deployed more border control personnel to ensure the operation runs smoothly.

Basic business logic, if you know you are going to be busy deploy more staff.

Err..

I believe that the French were willing to staff more passport control booths at Portsmouth but the UK turned it down on the grounds of cost..

They can't do proper checks without the facilities.

I also understand that they did provide more staff than usual and sent more across to help move the queues.

The reason that they are taking so long is that every passport has to be checked for previous visits to ensure that the 90 day rule isn't infringed and all passports have to be stamped because of the 90 day rule.

Also, Eurostar has cut back on its schedules because the time taken to process passports was causing problems. So more people and coaches are going via Dover

I understand that, according to comments from people like teachers on twitter, before Brexit coachloads were dealt with by everyone waving their passports, but now each one has to be checked individually.

It really is time that people faced up to the consequences of their Leave vote and admitted that they hadn't realised the inconvenience it would cause people, or even apologised, rather than make excuses; especially such childish excuses as 'it's French petulance'.

I hope that Portsmouth is OK, Jaxjacky , because we're going there soon..

Freya5

Perhaps ferries taking more bookings they can manage, greed, along with intransigence of French border control does have much to add to this mix. Wonder how many French have the same problem coming into UK, non I guess, or you never hear about it. Think we just wave them through. Oh the rabid beurocracy of the EU. If they carry on, people will remember there are much nicer, and more welcoming countries we can visit.

I doubt it has anything to do with intransigence of French border control. I've just come back from a weekend in Paris. We went by train on Eurostar and border control/customs all went smoothly. If anything, the French officials were quicker than the UK ones. A teacher had 80 pupils with her and asked French border control to open a new gate just for them, which they did.

The issue is to do with coaches, where each passenger has to be checked individually. I've led loads of coaches through Dover/Calais and border control and customs usually just looked at the group leaders' passports, asked if we had any non-UK/EU nationals on board and waved us through. It wasn't like that in pre-EU days and it isn't now - surprise, surprise!

Smileless2012

Don't remember his name either flump but I'm sure that he also said when being interviewed that the ferries had taken more bookings than the could realistically handle.

Strange isn’t it that this was never the case before Brexit.

It was always known that Dover would be the bottleneck.

Whitewavemark2

GrannyGravy13

Brexit requires all U.K. passports to be checked, fair enough.

Knowing this one would think that the French passport control would have deployed more border control personnel to ensure the operation runs smoothly.

Basic business logic, if you know you are going to be busy deploy more staff.

The French authorities check passports in Dover, Dover simply hasn’t the level of infrastructure needed for the level of traffic - this was always known to be the case.

Later in the year there will be passport checks, fingerprints, facial recognition plus other length of stay checks etc.

It was also reported that for several hours there were only two French Border Control operatives on duty, ridiculous.

Whitewavemark2

GrannyGravy13

Brexit requires all U.K. passports to be checked, fair enough.

Knowing this one would think that the French passport control would have deployed more border control personnel to ensure the operation runs smoothly.

Basic business logic, if you know you are going to be busy deploy more staff.

Just like last year -it is the cheapest quicker crossing and used by coaches in particular.

I agree it’s the cheapest, but Easter holidays have not just been invented, it is down to not enough man/woman power to do the job of passport checks,

It is not rocket science, the ferry companies knew they would be busy, the French Border Control knew they would be busy deploy more staff simples.

GrannyGravy13

Brexit requires all U.K. passports to be checked, fair enough.

Knowing this one would think that the French passport control would have deployed more border control personnel to ensure the operation runs smoothly.

Basic business logic, if you know you are going to be busy deploy more staff.

The French authorities check passports in Dover, Dover simply hasn’t the level of infrastructure needed for the level of traffic - this was always known to be the case.

Later in the year there will be passport checks, fingerprints, facial recognition plus other length of stay checks etc.

Don't remember his name either flump but I'm sure that he also said when being interviewed that the ferries had taken more bookings than the could realistically handle.

A busy ferry crossing over the weekend Portsmouth to Saint Malo, but all in all smooth sailing and no huge hold ups.
DD2 went from Plymouth to Roscoff and said no one was really bothering to check on the French side.
Sheer volume of traffic at Dover I'm guessing.

GrannyGravy13

Brexit requires all U.K. passports to be checked, fair enough.

Knowing this one would think that the French passport control would have deployed more border control personnel to ensure the operation runs smoothly.

Basic business logic, if you know you are going to be busy deploy more staff.

Just like last year -it is the cheapest quicker crossing and used by coaches in particular.

Jaxjacky

Seems to have been Dover specifically, no reports of problems at Portsmouth.

My sister and family drove to France yesterday, via the Euro shuttle Folkestone no hold ups, straight through.