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Mandatory Covid-19 testing of truck drivers crossing from Britain to France will be another reason to prevent Irish traders from using the UK’s key “land bridge” route to mainland Europe, industry groups have warned.
On Tuesday night, France agreed to reopen its borders with Britain to truck drivers who tested negative for Covid-19, after a 48-hour ban was introduced on Sunday to prevent the spread of a strain of most infectious coronavirus from England.
The closure left thousands of truckers, including up to 250 Irish drivers, stranded on roadsides, in highway sidings and emergency truck parks in southern England.
French authorities, until at least January 6, will allow drivers to travel for essential reasons to the country if they show a negative Covid-19 test that is less than 72 hours old.
Foreign Minister Simon Coveney questioned whether Irish truck drivers who have to manage Covid-19 tests would be “feasible” given the tight deadlines in which Irish carriers operate using the UK as a land bridge to the UK. rest of the EU.
He anticipates “a few weeks” of disruptions, truck queues and ferry delays at British ports as a result of new border controls between the EU and the UK from January 1, when Brexit takes effect.
Direct ferries
The minister urged companies to take direct ferries to continental Europe instead.
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“The focus should now be on direct ferry routes for the foreseeable future,” he said.
When asked about the capacity shortage for trucks on direct ferries, Coveney said shipping lines were reacting quickly and there was a “significant increase in capacity” on direct routes.
“We are likely to see more of that in the coming days,” he said.
The transport industry wants drivers to be exempted from the tests as they are “transiting” through Britain, and has said the tests will discourage traders from taking the route.
“It is another nail in the coffin of the land bridge, but it is not the last nail. We still need it because there is not enough capacity at the moment on the direct routes, ”said Aidan Flynn, Executive Director of the Irish Freight Transport Association.
This was a “wake-up call” for companies to examine alternative routes to the continent before Brexit border checks begin, he said.
Traveling across Britain has traditionally been the cheapest and fastest way to reach Europe, but stopping for Covid-19 testing can jeopardize urgent fresh and chilled food deliveries.
On-site testing
British officials managed to convince France to accept rapid, on-site tests for Covid instead of standard PCR tests that can take at least a day to produce a result.
The Executive Director of the Irish Exporters Association, Simon McKeever, questioned the practicality of testing drivers en route and what would happen to a load if the driver tests positive.
“This will make people rethink the use of the land bridge because it is introducing uncertainty in the short term as they discover what this means,” he said.
Flynn said it was “very disappointing” that French authorities were “ignoring” the European Commission guidance issued Tuesday that member states exempt essential transport workers crossing borders with goods from testing and quarantines.
“Cargo flows must continue uninterrupted,” the commission said.
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