Heightened French border security checks caused massive disruption for many hours Saturday as some thousands of travelers tried to make the journey into France.
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Travelers were advised to bring extra water and food on any journey involving a Channel crossing.
“We would nevertheless like to apologise to the passengers whose holidays were affected and assure them that we will be talking to the British and French authorities this week to ensure that there is no repetition of this disruption”, she added.
Volunteers are delivering bottled water to motorists stuck in the hot, humid weather.
Dover is Britain’s main ferry port to continental Europe, with Calais in northeastern France 21 miles (33 kilometres) away across the Channel.
Queues to reach French border checks, which have been tightened following recent terror attacks, are now at expected levels for the holiday season, Kent Police has said.
People travelling across the Channel from Dover have been warned by police to expect delays of up to eight-and-a-half hours after checks were stepped up at the request of French authorities.
People travelling, many heading off for a summer break, spent up to 15 hours in standstill in queued traffic while water supplies were dropped along the jam by police helicopter.
They said: ” Kent Police is urging motorists to remain with their vehicles – traffic is stop and start and exiting vehicles can be unsafe.
“The Port of Dover, which has no authority over French border operations, raised concerns over French manning levels with the United Kingdom government earlier this week and the government, in turn, raised the issue with its French counterparts”.
The Conservative MP for Dover, Charlie Elphicke, who was struck in traffic for around two hours on Friday evening, said there had been a lack of planning which led to “poor transport management”.
France imposed a state of emergency following the “Islamic State” terror attacks in Paris last November.
“We understand that there has been extraordinary disruption in the Dover area… but safety is paramount. Highways England has also worked all weekend – alongside Kent Police, Kent County Council and the Port of Dover – to assist motorists caught up in the delays”.
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Helen Deeble, chief executive of P&O Ferries, said holidaymakers were delayed for ” completely unacceptable lengths of time” and insisted the situation “must never be allowed to happen again”.
