The FTA are demanding compensation for lorry drivers who have been caught up in the Operation Stack chaos.
Speaking out before ministers meet in Calais today, the FTA have called for ‘suitable compensation’ to be seriously considered by the government in France.
The FTA have said that haulage operators should be given compensation to help recoup the losses caused by the controversial traffic measures.
According to the FTA, the cost to UK based hauliers whose lorries were stuck on the M20 during the 28 long days, between 23rd June and 2nd August, that Operation Stack was implemented was more than £21m.
The figure of £21m does not include any loss of business, contaminated loads, missed export deadlines or the additional costs for diverted journeys.
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Operation Stack In Action
James Hookham, Deputy Chief Executive FTA, said: ‘’FTA is calling on the French government to consider compensation for UK freight operators to help recover some of the losses this summer due to Operation Stack.
‘’The weeks of chaos on the roads in Kent were unacceptable and we need a long-term solution to Operation Stack. This situation cannot be allowed to happen again.
‘’As the industrial dispute from the MyFerryLink workers has not been resolved, there is every likelihood that we could see a repeat performance before summer is out.’’
Operation Stack is the system which allows lorries to park on the M20 during cross-channel disruptions.
More than 6,000 lorries were stuck on the M20 during the latest Operation Stack which has caused chaos for lorry drivers, haulage operators, tourists and businesses across Europe.
Operation Stack has been used frequently over the past month due to ongoing issues with French strikes and migrants storming the Channel Tunnel in Calais.
The FTA estimates that the crisis was costing the UK haulage industry £750k per day, as lorries were stopped on closed sections of the M20 which is used to access Eurotunnel and the Port of Dover.
Hookham added: "FTA has calculated that the UK lorries queued during Operation Stack accounted for only 15% of all HGVs affected and therefore the wider costs to hauliers across Europe are significantly higher.
"So the French Government should accept that they are liable not only for the cost to British hauliers, but to all others involved."
Earlier in August it was announced that the Manston airport site would be used as an overflow for lorries that get caught up in the stack.
The Home Secretary, Theresa may, and the French Interior Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, are due to meet in Calais today to thrash out a deal to tackle the ongoing migrant crisis there, and to discuss more security around the site where there are now thousands of migrants camped.
