Brits heading to the Continent over the Bank Holiday weekend were hit with queues of nearly five hours due to the controversial new EU border system.
They were left sweltering in the heat at Dover and for the Eurotunnel at Folkestone as temperatures rose into the high 20Cs.
The Port of Dover had warned, in advance of the getaway to the Continent, that there could be waits of at least two hours.
But the border gridlock got so bad that the French authorities agreed to scale back the new EU border controls.
Cars were facing waits of 4.5 hours to board ferries to France on Saturday morning.
Holidaymakers and other travellers were queuing for two hours just to get into the port of Dover and then a further 2.5 hours to get through border controls, according to the BBC.
They were suffering three-hour waits to get onto Eurotunnel services at Folkestone, it added, including an hour to get through check-in, then 60 minutes to clear border controls.
There were no queues reported at St Pancras International, London, for Eurostar services, apart from due to the high number of passengers.
As the travel nightmare grew for so many people, the French authorities eased border controls.
A Port of Dover spokesman said: “Following the Port’s active escalation of the challenging situation in Dover with the relevant border authorities, we are pleased that Police Aux Frontieres (PAF) have responded positively by invoking the Article 9 clause of the EES regulations.
“While conventional border checks will still be undertaken, this will now enable PAF to significantly reduce the border processing time.
“We will be working with PAF and all our partners to get customers into and through the port as swiftly as possible and keep the roads clear for our local community.”
This weekend was the first major holiday period since the EU’s entry-exit system (EES), which involves people having their fingerprints registered and photograph taken, came into force.
But the Port of Dover said the full system was not running for cars yet, and that it was still awaiting delivery and installation of key French technology.
It means French border police were manually creating traveller records at the eastern docks.
Dover had prepared for 18,000 travellers between Friday and Sunday, and warned that the busiest periods each day will be between 6am and about 1pm.
Saturday was expected to be the port’s busiest day of the year so far, with more than 8,000 travellers.
In a traffic update posted at 11.30am on Friday, the port said people faced a 120-minute wait to get through French border and security checks, in addition to queues of traffic leading up to the port on the approach roads which may add to the waiting time.
In a separate advisory message, it said as this is the first holiday period since the implementation of the EU’s entry-exit system (EES), officials are urging passengers to follow travel advice to keep journeys running smoothly.
EES involves people from third-party countries such as the UK having their fingerprints registered and photograph taken to enter the Schengen Area, which consists of 29 European countries, mainly in the EU.
Passengers heading to Dover were advised to use the main road routes to the port, arrive no earlier than two hours before departure and ensure they have a confirmed booking and all travel documents ready.
They were also told to prepare for possible delays by bringing food and water, while anyone who misses their ferry because of disruption would be moved on to the next available sailing.
Motoring organisations has also warned of very busy roads over the Bank Holiday weekend as Britain faced rising temperatures.
