‘Total gridlock’ at Dover as 8,000 travellers face new EU border checks on busiest day of year so far
The Port of Dover is experiencing significant traffic congestion as 8,000 travelers face new EU border checks on one of the busiest days of the year. Passengers are reporting waits of over two hours just to enter the port, with additional delays at border control. The situation is exacerbated by high temperatures, with an amber heat alert in effect for the region.
- ▪Hundreds of families are trapped in gridlock queues outside the Port of Dover due to new EU border checks.
- ▪Travelers are facing waits of at least an hour and a half at the port, with reports of additional delays to enter the port itself.
- ▪Saturday is expected to be the busiest day of the year at Dover, with more than 8,000 travelers.
- ▪This is the first holiday period since the implementation of the EU's entry-exit system, which is not fully operational yet.
- ▪An amber heat alert is in place for the South East, with temperatures expected to reach 25 degrees.
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NewsUKHome News‘Total gridlock’ at Dover as 8,000 travellers face new EU border checks on busiest day of year so farTravellers are facing long queues on what is expected to be one of the hottest days of the year so farHolly Bancroft & Simon CalderSaturday 23 May 2026 10:07 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2982400","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/dover-port-queues-bank-holiday-travel-eu-checks-b2982400.html","title":"‘Total gridlock’ at Dover as 8,000 travellers face new EU border checks"}}Train strikes and EU…
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