The former Manston airport site in Thanet may be put on standby to hold lorries in the event of queues and delays over the Easter weekend get-away.

Traffic is expected to increase as holidaymakers head to the continent over what is traditionally one of the busiest periods of the year.

There have been reports that staff who worked at the Manston site when there was a serious backlog over Christmas and the New Year in 2020 have been approached about their availability to do so again.

Manston was decommissioned as an emergency Brexit lorry park in March last year after the government determined it was no longer required.

However, Manston owners have always said they were prepared to bring it back as a lorry holding area at short notice if required and had not itself terminated the agreement.

In a statement, it said: “RSP has confirmed that the airport is available to help alleviate congestion if needed. Even after the DCO (Development Consent Order) is granted, it could remain available for a further few months until construction actually begins on site.”

Several thousand lorries were held at Manston for several days until the blockade by the French authorities over Covid was lifted.

"It really made a difference in 2020 by not overpowering the M20..."

The prospects of using Manston again was downplayed by Cllr David Brazier, the county council's cabinet member responsible for roads and transport.

He said that there were signs the pressure was easing and that KCC would have expected to have been told if there were any such plans. "We have not heard anything to that effect although it would be a decision for the government not us."

It is understood a briefing for the KCC cabinet took place this morning about the situation but Manston did not feature.

Meanwhile, the former Conservative leader of KCC, Paul Carter has argued Manston should be used and be brought back into use as a temporary lorry holding area so traffic can be kept moving along the M20.

Paul Carter, who remains a county councillor for Maidstone, said the government should recommission Manston to ease pressure on the M20, arguing that it would be a better option than closing a 23-mile section of the motorway.

"The missing link is that they are not using Manston - it really made a difference in 2020 by not overpowering the M20; the whole point was to use it and to offer food and the necessary sanitary provision while they waited to be discharged from the site."

While he accepted that there were issues about access to the Manston site, using it would end the misery of traffic being diverted to the A20.

"Either the government needs to recommission Manston or they have got to find a similar area where they provide the right support for them. queuing for however many days they need."