DFDS ferry boss warns of 20 mile queues at Dover if checks do not ease

Chris Parker hopes UK holidaymakers will opt for ferry travel as the pandemic eases

An increase in travel to Europe could cause long queues at Dover if coronavirus border checks are not eased by Easter, a ferry boss has warned.

Chris Parker, director of capacity and passenger performance at ferry operator DFDS said he hoped 2022 would see a resurgence in demand.

But if that happens, he said existing Covid checks "simply won't work'.

"The impact would be queues on Kent's motorways, stretching back 10, 20 miles," he said.

Mr Parker hailed the "very good news" last week that pre-departure travel tests to the UK were to be scrapped for fully vaccinated travellers and under-18s.

The government said the changes were possible because the Omicron variant was "widespread and worldwide".

"[We are] hearing we may hear something quite soon from the French government to say that they're doing the same," Mr Parker said.

France tightened restrictions as the Omicron variant spread

In December, the French Government tightened restrictions in an attempt to slow the spread of the variant.

Currently, most travellers from the UK who are not French residents or citizens must give a "compelling reason" to enter.

Mr Parker said restrictions had been changing with "dizzying frequency" and this had led to "quite a lot of abuse" for DFDS staff at the border.

Checks on passenger locator forms and vaccination passports have meant delays for travellers, he said, and a significant increase in numbers would "escalate" the problem.

"It's really, really important that we don't find ourselves around Easter, for example, doing these sort of checks because it simply won't work," he said.

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