Airport passengers head to Port of Dover after flight delays

The Port of Dover has warned people not to turn up without a booking on Saturday after it received “hundreds” of displaced airport passengers.

Airports have said their systems are working again after global IT outages caused problems, but journeys could still be affected by cancellations and delays.

The port said it was processing summer holiday getaway traffic “well”, with passengers waiting 60 minutes to get through border controls on Saturday morning.

Toby Howe, highways and transportation strategic resilience manager at Kent County Council, told BBC Radio Kent the port was likely to be “very busy”, with “tourist vehicles queueing to try and get into the port”.

IT outages reported across the world were caused by a cyber-security firm Crowdstrike update to its software, designed to protect Microsoft Windows devices from being hacked.

The port said issues with its CCTV and some checking in services had been resolved.

Chief executive Doug Bannister said border controls and approach roads to the port were “running smoothly” on Saturday morning, and it had “so far” been able to accommodate airport passengers.

“But please don’t be disappointed, make a booking before you come,” he added.

On Saturday morning, P&O Ferries warned of “high traffic volumes” causing congestion on the roads leading to the port.

They advised passengers to allow extra time when travelling and to bring refreshments.

Irish Ferries also told passengers to allow “sufficient time” to complete border controls and check-in.

DFDS said on X it was implementing a “cross-channel shuttle service” due to “traffic congestion” at Dover.

Mr Howe told Dover passengers to ensure they had “good provisions”, including water, food and prescription medication on Saturday.

Operation Brock, the traffic-holding system for lorries queueing to cross the English Channel, is in place on the M20 towards the port.

Eurotunnel also warned of around 30 minute delays to booked times at Folkestone terminal on Saturday morning.

On Friday, IT issues were reported across Kent, Surrey and Sussex, impacting Gatwick Airport, Govia Thameslink services, hospitals and GP surgeries.

Royal Surrey County Hospital said on Saturday morning it had declared a critical incident due to IT issues affecting its community services.

Radiotherapy appointments were impacted on Friday but are now running as usual.

Gatwick Airport said it was “operating as normal” on Saturday but warned of “likely” delays and cancellations.

Govia Thameslink said no impact on its services was “anticipated” on Saturday.