Travel industry crisis over chaos in France
‘Barriers would be a disaster’
FERRY companies, Eurostar and airlines have warned of cuts to services to France and ‘tough decisions’ ahead after mass cancellations.
Around half of those due to cross the Channel over the weekend with Brittany Ferries pulled out at the last minute following the Government’s decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on their return.
This equates to some 2,550 travellers who controversially lost their summer holidays at short notice with just one company.
At the same time, Brittany Ferries revealed another 35,000 people have cancelled planned summer trips or moved the dates of travel. Other holiday companies are likely to have suffered a similar collapse and may now face a threat to services and jobs.
In another development, confirming a travel industry death spiral, Easyjet announced it is cutting up to 670 jobs as it plans to close bases at Stansted, Southend and Newcastle.
The announcement comes three months after the carrier said it would have to cut 4,500 jobs across Europe to cope with a smaller market in the wake of the pandemic. Chief executive Johan Lundgren blamed ‘the pandemic and related travel restrictions’ for the base closures and said Britain’s quarantine measures were affecting demand.
Eurostar has revealed it has cut back train services through the Channel Tunnel to Paris by a quarter following a slump in demand. Airlines are under pressure to follow suit.
Ryanair is to cut a fifth of its flights to France, Spain and some other countries for the next two months after bookings dived.
The situation could get even worse if the French retaliate by requiring all British visitors to quarantine for 14 days. Brittany Ferries operates services to France from Portsmouth, Poole and Plymouth. There are also services to Spain.
A spokesman said the industry is going through a nightmare period and warned of difficult decisions.
He said: ‘In terms of those traveltough ling to France last weekend, around half of those who were originally booked travelled, which means the other 40 to 50 per cent cancelled.’
Looking ahead, he said: ‘Unfortunately, weak forward demand means we may have to make some decisions about which services we run and which we don’t in the months to come.
‘That is the reality of our difficult decisions, but we apologise in advance for any inconvenience to passengers.’
As things stand, there is no legal ban on Britons travelling to France for a holiday.
And Brittany Ferries hopes that many people will continue to do so. However, this all depends on the hope that the French will not retaliate by imposing 14 days quarantine on Britons travelling there.
The spokesman said: ‘We desperately want to avoid reciprocal quarantine measures in France, because any further barrier to travel would be a disaster, not just for us, but for all the regions in north-west France that rely – partly – on us for their summer tourist season.’
Eurostar has reduced the number of daily services each way between London and Paris from eight to six. A spokesman said: ‘We will continue to monitor demand on an ongoing basis and update our timetable accordingly to ensure that those that need to travel can continue to do so and at a safe distance apart.’
Editor of Which? Travel, Rory Boland, said: ‘The Government must step in with support for the industry... to ensure the future of international travel and to enable operators to fulfil their legal obligations to customers on refunds for cancellations.’