An IT outage at the French Police aux Frontières passport control booths created tailbacks of up to an hour in Dover’s buffers early on 22 December, just as 30,000 vehicles were forecast to pass through the port over the holiday weekend. Ferry operators including P&O urged motorists not to arrive more than two hours before departure, while freight traffic was held on the A20 under the TAP queue-management system.
Although processing times once at the kiosk were described as “swift”, the bottleneck grid-locked local roads and forced some passengers to miss booked sailings. Eurotunnel reported similar slow-downs at Folkestone. Adding to the misery, CrossCountry cancelled a dozen services between Birmingham and Manchester because of driver shortages, while RAC predicted a record 37.5 million leisure car journeys this week.
![IT failure at French border checkpoints causes one-hour Dover queues and rail knock-on delays]()
At times like these, having expert guidance on travel documentation can be invaluable. VisaHQ’s UK platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) offers real-time visa and passport support for individuals and corporates alike, helping travellers stay ahead of evolving border requirements, secure the necessary paperwork and minimise disruption when unexpected hold-ups occur.
For corporates moving staff or goods into continental Europe, the incident underscores the vulnerability of UK–EU land-bridge routes during peak periods, especially ahead of the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) due in early 2026. Logistics teams should maintain real-time visibility tools and build contingency buffers into just-in-time delivery schedules.
Port of Dover officials say the French system is now stable, but warn that any further glitches—combined with next week’s Border Force strikes—could quickly recreate long queues.
Although processing times once at the kiosk were described as “swift”, the bottleneck grid-locked local roads and forced some passengers to miss booked sailings. Eurotunnel reported similar slow-downs at Folkestone. Adding to the misery, CrossCountry cancelled a dozen services between Birmingham and Manchester because of driver shortages, while RAC predicted a record 37.5 million leisure car journeys this week.
At times like these, having expert guidance on travel documentation can be invaluable. VisaHQ’s UK platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) offers real-time visa and passport support for individuals and corporates alike, helping travellers stay ahead of evolving border requirements, secure the necessary paperwork and minimise disruption when unexpected hold-ups occur.
For corporates moving staff or goods into continental Europe, the incident underscores the vulnerability of UK–EU land-bridge routes during peak periods, especially ahead of the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) due in early 2026. Logistics teams should maintain real-time visibility tools and build contingency buffers into just-in-time delivery schedules.
Port of Dover officials say the French system is now stable, but warn that any further glitches—combined with next week’s Border Force strikes—could quickly recreate long queues.
