Delays and congestion at the port of Rotterdam will be inevitable in the first four to six weeks of 2021 due to Brexit. Dozens of pickup trucks and trucks heading to the UK will be stranded. Customs announced the prediction on Thursday, based on an inventory.
It is expected that one in four airlines flying to the UK will not have the correct documentation. “Despite the facilities that have been achieved and a lot of preparatory work by customs and other parties at the port, there will be delays,” says Nanette Van Schellven, Director General of Customs.
If carriers do not register their goods properly, they will not be able to get to the terminals and will be referred to the emergency parking areas, where they can still prepare their documentation.
Customs will work on crisis mode in the first weeks of January. This means that help and service desks expect an increase in the number of questions.
Other measures, such as longer working hours and additional staff, have also been taken to solve problems. In the run-up to the British departure, customs hired 900 additional workers who were specially trained for Brexit.
The British left the European Union on January 31 this year, but there is still a period of transition now. This ends at the end of this year. The future business relationship between the two parties is still under discussion.
