DM: ‘Treated Worse than Cattle’ – Britons Queue for Hours at Passport Control to Get to France

DM: ‘Treated Worse than Cattle’ – Britons Queue for Hours at Passport Control to Get to France

Tens of thousands of British families spent tens of hours queuing at passport controls at ports on their way to France last weekend, while others were forced to stand in long queues at check-in desks and security checks at UK airports, the Daily Mail reports. Extra post-Brexit border checks and a shortage of staff at passport control points have been blamed for the delays.

Angry Britons, who have had to spend almost a day in huge queues at Britain’s main transport hubs – the ports of Dover and Folkestone – complain they are being “treated worse than cattle”, the Daily Mail reports.

Last weekend, tens of thousands of jaded families had to endure the chaos of trying to cross the Channel on their way to France, many of them had to spend the night in their cars due to delays at passport control points.

The problems began on Friday morning and, despite hopes that the situation would return to normal on Sunday, it was only at the port of Dover where traffic returned to normal in the afternoon. In Folkestone, however, the situation remained dire. Some families had to spend 21 hours crossing the border, while some complained that they had travelled just over a kilometre in almost ten hours in line.

According to father-of-three Manesh Luthra, he and his family left their home in Essex at 4am on Saturday and were already in a queue of cars at 6am, but did not manage to cross the passport control point until 1am on Sunday. Luthra noted that his family, like many others, had “many times” wanted to give up and go home as they had been given no information and no support.

As noted by another British woman trying to get into France, people in line were running out of food and water, fainting and having to walk their dogs along the road to the passport control points.

The publication notes that additional post-Brexit border checks and understaffing of passport control points have been blamed for the delays, with French border guards operating only six of the 12 points. The British anger was primarily directed at French border police chief Fernand Gontier, who has repeatedly spoken out against Brexit.

“First the French don’t show up for work and then refuse to apologise for spoiling a well-deserved holiday for the British. No wonder people are asking if this is another example of anti-British behaviour by the French,” the publication quotes Dover MP Natalie Elphike as saying.

British Transport Minister Grant Shapps blamed France for the “unacceptable” delays, saying French passport services should have provided sufficient staff at passport control.

However, French politician Pierre-Henri Dumont, for his part, blamed Britain’s exit from the EU for the delays, saying it was the “consequences of Brexit” that required additional checks, and adding that Dover port was “too small”.

According to the Daily Mail, “absolute chaos” has reigned not only at ports but also at UK airports. On Sunday, long queues lined up at EasyJet check-in counters at Bristol airport. And on Friday passengers at Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports repeatedly complained of queues to get through security checks; shortages of staff also led to long delays in baggage claim.

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