British border closure: despair with 3,000 trucks trapped in Kent

Huge lines formed in Kent Brittany, where almost 3,000 trucks are trapped Tuesday afternoon, waiting for the border with France to open.

Paris announced this Sunday the closure of the border with Great Britain for 48 hours, due to the appearance of a mutation of the new coronavirus in the country. However, it has not yet been clarified when the traffic will be allowed to resume.

A Kent County spokesperson told CNNi that 632 trucks were stuck on the M20 and another 2,188 in a parking lot at Manston Airport.

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The situation is dire and desperate, as Rod McKenzie, executive director of policy and public affairs for the Transportation Federation, described, access to restrooms is limited and food available to drivers is minimal.

On Monday, the UK launched Operation Brock in an effort to manage the situation on the M20 motorway during the closure. The highway closure system was designed to deal with potential traffic jams at the end of the Brexit transition period.

Trucks arriving in Kent en route to the Port of Dover or the Channel Tunnel are diverted to Manston Airport for parking.

Drivers are advised to avoid heading to Kent as the situation can last for several days.