London, UK: The government’s new quarantine measures are leading to delays of up to 90 minutes for trucks crossing the Channel into UK ports, according to an article in the Times.
Cross-channel ferry operators have reported queues to board ships at ports in northern France, Belgium and Calais, after delays in processing people who want to enter Britain, says the article.
One of the possible causes is that while lorry drivers are exempt from quarantine if journeys are work-related, they still have to fill in arrivals forms each time they cross the Channel: the forms are only in English so foreign lorry drivers might struggle to fill them in, argues the Times article. More than eight in ten hauliers entering Britain are from outside the country.
“The quarantine has slowed things down a little bit,” says the Road Haulage Association policy director Duncan Buchanan.
“It caused problems and could have been done much better with a bit more preparation.”
