Border controls in France.
Cross-Channel passengers planning to travel through Calais are advised to check online with their travel operator. Information about alternative routes and operators is available via this interactive map.
Calais situation: 5 August 2015
There is an ongoing possibility of disruption to cross-Channel services as a result of industrial action and migrant activity in and around Calais.
Check online with your chosen operator and plan your journey to avoid disruption
If you are in the UK and have a booking, check online with your operator for more information before you leave and consider making alternative arrangements if necessary.
If you are in returning to the UK from abroad and you have a booking, check online with your operator for more information. You may also wish to consider alternative routes for returning to the UK.
General travel advice
Cross-Channel passengers travelling from Dover/Folkestone to the Port of Calais are advised to check online with their chosen operator and plan their journey to avoid disruption. You may also want to follow local radio for travel updates. Information about alternative routes and operators is available via this interactive map.
If you require emergency assistance, emergency services in France are contacted by dialling 112. If you require assistance from the British Embassy, please contact 00 33 (0)1 44 51 31 00.
Compensation and exchanging tickets
If you need to exchange travel tickets, contact your operator. For advice on compensation and your rights, visit the ABTA website.
Read guidance on EU Regulation 1177/2010, which establishes the rights of all maritime passengers to assistance in the case of delayed or cancelled departures.
Contacts for cross-Channel operators
Dover/Folkestone – Calais/Coquelles cross-Channel operators
DFDS Seaways also operates out of Amsterdam, Dieppe and Dunkirk:
- Twitter @DFDSUKUpdates
- telephone:
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- Calais, Dunkirk and Amsterdam +44 (0) 344 902 0265 and +44 (0) 871 882 1777 for sailing information
- Dieppe +44 (0) 844 576 8836, INT 0800 650 100 and +44 (0) 844 576 8836 for sailing information
P&O Ferries also operates out of Rotterdam and Zeebrugge:
- Twitter @POferries for ferry updates
- telephone +44 (0) 800 13 0030
Eurotunnel operates from Coquelles:
- Twitter @LeShuttle
- telephone: +44 (0) 8444 63 0000 (24 hour pre-recorded travel information), +44 (0) 8443 35 35 35, +33 (0) 810 63 03 04
Other cross-Channel operators and routes
Details of alternative routes for returning to the UK. Check availability and book ahead before considering travelling to another port of exit.
Brittany Ferries operates out of Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre, Roscoff, St Malo, Bilbao and Santander:
- Twitter @Brittanyferries
- telephone +44 (0) 1752 648 637
Condor Ferries operates out of St Malo and Cherbourg:
- Twitter @CF_Travel_News
- telephone +44 (0) 1202 207 216, St Malo +44 (0) 825 165 463, Cherbourg +33 (0) 233 88 44 88
Stena operates out of Hook of Holland:
- Twitter @StenalineUK
- telephone +44 (0) 8447 70 70 70
Additional contacts
Road traffic information
UK road traffic
- Highways England traffic information or on Twitter: @HighwaysSEAST
- @kentpoliceroads News and updates from Kent Police’s Roads Policing Unit (Traffic).
France road traffic
What the government is doing
We are working closely with the French government to seek an urgent return of normal services. We have also increased security and Border Force operations at the port.
We continue to closely monitor the situation and will update travel advice accordingly.
The government’s COBR emergency committee has met to discuss the situation in Calais and review implementation of our contingency plans. On 31 July Prime Minister David Cameron chaired the COBR meeting and announced additional measures to strengthen security at Coquelles and alleviate pressure on the road network in Kent caused by Operation Stack.
Law and order in and around Calais is the responsibility of the French authorities, but the UK continues to work with its French counterparts to strengthen the security of the border to stop migrants entering the UK illegally.
Border Force put its well-rehearsed and practised contingency plans into operation to ensure security is maintained during this period of disruption to cross-Channel services and as they return to normal. We have deployed additional Border Force staff and sniffer dogs in northern France as well as bolstering screening checks at Dover for both tourist and freight vehicles. This is on top of already rigorous border controls, which include 100% freight screening at Coquelles and Calais.
The government:
- has agreed to additional funding of up to £7 million towards increasing security at the Channel Tunnel railhead at Coquelles
- is providing funding to bolster the security and infrastructure of ports in northern France and Belgium – this includes a £2 million upgrade of detection technology, a £1 million extension of dog searching capacity and an additional £12 million to reinforce security at the juxtaposed border
- has installed new fencing in Calais to enhance security at the port and help protect traffic on the road leading to it
- has announced there will be a new secure area for freight at Calais port
- is tackling the roots of this problem by increasing joint intelligence work with the French to target the organised crime gangs behind people smuggling
- has granted an exceptional temporary relaxation of the enforcement of EU drivers’ hours rules for drivers delayed due to Operation Stack in Kent
- has secured temporary use of Manston Airfield to provide short term additional capacity during Operation Stack to help manage freight traffic on its way to the Port of Dover
- has put in place new arrangements to prioritise freight vehicles carrying ‘quick to market goods’ across the Channel
More than 39,000 attempts to cross the Channel illegally were prevented in 2014 to 2015 – more than double the previous year.