Amid storms at sea and a lack of ferries, travelers seeking to cross the Channel from the United Kingdom to France were asked to be patient on Saturday, as traffic jams swelled around the British port of Dover.

“Be sure to bring food and drinks as it will be delayed,” officials in Kent, south-east England, have warned.

Kent’s official resilience forum, BBC Toby Howe, said on Saturday that “everything has come to a halt” between a storm and a reduction in losses linked to overnight layoffs of 800 workers at shipping company P&O in mid-March. .

“Yes, we had problems with the P&O. Then we had a storm at sea, which meant that many boats couldn’t cross that night,” he said, adding to the problems with customs, Brexit. Since often, the speed of the crossing was too slow.

The chaos comes amid Britain’s Easter holidays since the country lifted restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic.

Holiday departures were also disrupted at several airports in the United Kingdom, particularly in Manchester in the north-west of England.

Several flights have been canceled due to staff shortages linked to large-scale layoffs during the pandemic due to COVID-19 cases among airline employees, including EasyJet.