Copyright
Reuters
Eurotunnel has warned customers in hopes of meeting the government’s deadline to not arrive at its terminal on Friday.
People coming from France and the Netherlands to the UK will be forced to be quarantined for 14 days if they return after 04.00 on Saturday.
The company warned hopeful passengers: “Do not come up unless you have a booking. You will not arrive at an intersection.”
“This is a highlight August weekend, we are already full of bookings.”
John Keefe, director of public affairs at Getlink, which operates the Channel Tunnel, told the BBC: “The service is already very busy this weekend and there is no extra capacity.”
Customers will not be able to take alternative shuttles on board without a valid reservation, he added.
“To avoid long queues and severe disruption, we strongly advise you to stop at the terminal outside the allotted time,” said Eurotunnel.
If people with a booking want to change it, they have to do it online, it said.
“Customers who are currently in France, and hoping to return, must change their tickets online at www.eurotunnel.com before traveling to the French terminal,” the company said.
But there have been long queues on the company’s website since the news was announced on Thursday.
It is estimated that there are currently around half a million Britons on holiday in France.
Eurotunnel said on a normal Friday in August that it was transporting 10-11,000 cars from France to the United Kingdom.
No extra crossings
Airlines and ferries are also unlikely to provide a route home for people running to meet the deadline.
Brittany Ferries told the BBC: “There will be no more crossings.”
‘We feel destroyed’
Tyler Peters and his girlfriend Julia are just two days into a 12-day road trip and hope to see family for the first time in months in England.
The couple was evicted from their home in Berlin on Wednesday and after a short stop in the Dutch capital, they were booked on a ferry from the Hook of Holland to Harwich on Friday night.
But her ferry had to arrive in England at 6am, two hours after the 4.00am quarantine deadline set by the British government.
Copyright
Tyler Peters
“It means we can not even see my mother in Cambridgeshire, which has been protected for months because we have to isolate ourselves for two weeks,” Tyler said.
“We tried to get a previous ferry, but we could not pay the extra € 350, which means we had to scrap our plans and lose the € 250 we had already paid for non-refundable ferry tickets. “
It was the couple’s first break since the lockdown and they had plans to drive through Europe because they felt safer than flying.
After visiting Tyler’s family, they intended to drive back through France, Belgium, and Austria before returning to Berlin.
“We wanted to do just as much as possible in the short period of time we were available, and within our limited funds,” Tyler said.
Now all those plans are in disrepair.
“Our plans had to change within moments and we feel devastated,” Tyler said.
“We’re trying to figure out what we need to do now, but it’s not easy to find useful information to advise on how travelers like us should behave.
“We will probably just get out of the Netherlands as soon as possible and just get back to Germany.”
Copyright
Brittany Ferries
EasyJet said their scheme would work as planned. “We plan to serve our full schedule in the coming days,” it said.
“Customers who no longer want to travel can transfer their flights without change costs or receive a voucher for the value of the booking.”
British Airways said of its flights to France and the Netherlands: “We currently have a limited schedule for these countries.
“As always, if a customer’s flight is canceled, they are entitled to a voucher as a full refund.”
Jet2 meanwhile said it would continue with flights to Bergerac and La Rochelle in France.
However, it will not fly to other French destinations until at least October.
British Airways said it was running a limited schedule to France, the Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks and Caicos and Aruba, all of which are on the quarantine list. It said customers could claim a refund if their flight was canceled.
Companies related to the travel industry saw their share prices fall on Friday.
EasyJet’s share price fell 6.61% to 570.46p, while British Airways’ mother, International Airlines Group, saw its share price fall 6.4% to 191.25p.
Ryanair’s price fell by 4.7%.
The price of share company Tui’s shares fell 5.3% to 326.2p each.
