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“The Prime Minister will hold a COBR (Crisis Cabinet) meeting tomorrow (Monday) to discuss the situation regarding international travel and in particular the regular flow of cargo to and from the UK.” a Downing Street spokesman announced tonight. More than a dozen countries have already announced travel restrictions to the UK.
The situation is especially delicate with the closure of the port of Dover. The decision came after the French Executive suspended, as of midnight today, all passenger travel from the United Kingdom, including the transport of goods, by road, air, sea or train for at least 48 hours. hours.
“Only unaccompanied cargo will be allowed,” specified the French Government.
Therefore, the Port of Dover decided to close until further notice. Thousands of trucks are detained outside the UK.
Antena 1 spoke, already this morning, with a Portuguese truck driver who often passes through this Port. Rui Pratas says that the next few hours can get complicated for many truck drivers.
The discovery of a new “out of control” variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in the UK has prompted several European countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Ireland and Bulgaria to suspend ties with the country on Sunday.
According to the British Road Transport Association, about 10,000 trucks pass through it every day.
“Stocking for Brexit is one thing, the peak of Christmas is another, but this 48-hour border closure is a real blow of the hammer,” Rod McKenzie, a representative of that federation, told Sky News.
British ports are currently producing a massive volume of traffic, with frequent delays and congestion on the roads connecting them, as many companies are preparing for the UK’s exit from the European single market on the night of 31 December.
With ten days to go, post-Brexit trade negotiations between London and Brussels are yet to be concluded and, if they fail, the sudden introduction of quotas and customs duties raises fears of supply chaos from the country.
