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© Associated Press
The ban on transport links between Britain and mainland Europe has put nearly 350 Bulgarian drivers and their families stranded near Dover in difficulties, and sparked a wave of suspicious reports of airline tickets to Bulgaria.
Bulgarian drivers blocked at the British border are still unable to depart, although the blockade of the Franco-British border was lifted at midnight due to the requirement that they have a negative antigen or a PCR test, BNT reports. Affected people told the media they had no food or water and could not take a test due to blocked traffic.
Bulgarian Ambassador to London Marin Raykov told BNT that a list of a total of 9 nearby laboratories where they could perform these tests had been uploaded to the embassy’s website and Facebook page. According to him, embassy teams brought food and water to the victims, but their movement was hampered by the blockades.
The Bulgarian transport company Eurospeed, which has 54 trucks stranded on the island, told the media that it had arranged to collect its employees on a private flight. For the company’s trucks, local authorities have provided an emergency route to a point from which drivers will be transported to Stanstend Airport. The Eurospeed charter flight is expected to take off from London and return late tonight.
BTV, on the other hand, reported signals from Bulgarian citizens about frequent ads on social media to recruit passengers for flights to Bulgaria. The ads appeared on Facebook, groups where people discuss options for returning to Bulgaria, including airline names and prices.
The embassy in London wrote on Facebook that they don’t place ads, they don’t specify a price. The consular service draws up a list of people in dire need who are in danger. If the number increases, the ambassador will propose the organization of a humanitarian flight.
Earlier today, the government decided to resume flights between Bulgaria and the United Kingdom and, from 00:00 on December 24, those arriving in Bulgaria will undergo a rapid antigen test. Details of the Minister’s order can be read here.
