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An additional 800 military personnel have been deployed to Kent to assist thousands of truck drivers waiting to cross into France.
Around 5,000 trucks are still waiting to cross after France closed its border to the UK Sunday after a new fast-spreading strain COVID-19 was identified in the country.
In total, around 1,100 soldiers have been dispatched to help with the severe disturbance caused on the English Channel border, providing coronavirus testing and distributing food and water as part of the operation.
More than 10,000 tests have been performed
Despite efforts to clear the truck backlog, thousands of haulers spend Christmas Day in their taxis.
A truck driver told Sky News that he had been waiting at the airport for two days and expected to return after testing negative for coronavirus.
He said a train providing food was “empty” with no water and the airport was “full”.
Efforts are being made to eliminate the delay
Another driver, named Michael, had been waiting in the UK for five days. He said the situation “was not good.”
Truck drivers are now required to show proof of having had a negative coronavirus test within the last 72 hours before they can cross the English Channel.
The tests are being carried out at Manston Airport, a closed section of the M20, and in Dover.
About 700 trucks have been cleared for departure since the border reopened on Wednesday.
Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps said more than 10,000 coronavirus tests have been conducted, of which only 24 have been positive.
He tweeted: “A big thank you for the tireless efforts of our troops, police, civilian evaluators, council planners, and port and ferry workers for giving up their Christmas to get people home.”
More than 700 trucks have been cleared since the border reopened on Wednesday.
Traffic flowed smoothly through Dover on Friday, and French firefighters were recruited to help with the testing process.
A spokesman for the Port of Dover said the ferry services operated through Christmas Eve and will continue through Christmas Day to help ease congestion.
Andreas Michaelis, From Germany ambassador to the United Kingdom, said that some German carriers had managed to return home by Christmas, but others were still in Kent.
Thousands of drivers spend Christmas day in their taxis
He tweeted: “Some of the German truck drivers we have been in contact with are either on their way home or already home. Others are unfortunately still stuck.
“I sincerely hope that things start to move for them soon. This is a difficult Christmas. Our thoughts are with them.”
Food deliveries to drivers caught in Operation Brock on the M20 have been arranged by the Southeastern Railway and Network Rail and delivered by the Salvation Army, with seven trains carrying food from London in the past two days.
HM Coastguard said its teams in the Dover area had so far delivered 3,000 hot meals, 600 pizzas, 2,985 packed lunches and 17 pallets of water to those waiting.
France closed its border with the United Kingdom on Sunday after a new, rapidly spreading strain of COVID-19 was identified in the country.
The government said catering vans would provide food and hot drinks to carriers stranded in Manston, and that Kent County Council and volunteer groups would provide refreshments to those caught on the M20.
There are over 250 toilets in Manston, with another 32 portable toilets added to the existing facilities on the M20.
