THE Port of Dover criticised French authorities today for “woefully inadequate” border control staffing as six-hour-long queues caused havoc during a week when most schools begin their summer holidays.

Authorities at the port declared a “critical incident” as Unite warned of further travel disruption in the aviation sector this summer, with workers “exhausted” and “at the end of their tether” from excessive hours even before a surge in flights for the summer holidays.

When most schools in England and Wales break up for summer this week, increased demand for flights and other forms of transport are expected to make it one of the busiest times to travel from the UK.

Port chief executive Doug Bannister said: “We’ve got a critical incident under way. We’ve been badly let down this morning by the French border.

“Insufficient resources and much-slower-than-normal transactions are leading to significant congestion around the port this morning.”

It will be “a very difficult day” and the incident has been “escalated to the highest levels in our government,” he said. 

He added: “I would consider holding off heading for the port at this point in time until more is known.”

Passengers in the UK travelling from Dover across the Channel must go through French border control checks before they can get on a ferry. The Kent port has said French staff didn’t arrive at work.

Labour’s shadow international trade secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “Yet again on this government’s watch we are seeing our vital travel and trade links grind to a halt. 

“This is what happens when you have a government with no plan and out of ideas about how to fix the country’s problems.”

Unite said its research shows workers across the aviation sector are working longer hours to keep the system running, with some “exhausted” and concerned about safety.

The union’s national officer Oliver Richardson said: “Sadly further disruption across the aviation sector is inevitable this summer. 

“This is a crisis of both the government’s and aviation sector’s own making. 

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The aviation sector is being held together by the sticking plaster of workers undertaking excessive amounts of overtime.

“This is simply not sustainable. The sector can’t recruit the workers it needs, many existing staff are leaving and those who remain are becoming exhausted and ill due to the long hours and stress they experience.”