Doug Bannister, chief executive of the Port of Dover, said his group had been planning for the day “for months” and joined others in blaming the French authorities. “To be let down in the way we are with under-resourced and slow processing – through the border authorities – is so incredibly disappointing,” he told the BBC. Asked when he knew so many French employees were not going to show up for work, he said it “became apparent around 04:00” that there would be problems today. Bannister added that the pressures of today, and what it would take to succeed, were known from all sides. Pressed on how the months of planning could lead to this, he said he wasn’t sure. “All we can do now is give the right information” to travelers, he added. Bannister advised travelers due to depart later today to check in with their operator and apologized for the “manner [their] the holidays begin”.
