Calais chaos stops ferries
THOUSANDS of British holidaymakers face yet more travel chaos today after striking French workers forced the cancellation of 30 cross-Channel ferries.
In the latest blow to those trying to travel through Calais, ferry firm DFDS Seaways said it was cancelling all Dover to Calais services for 48 hours.
More than 30,000 passengers were due to board its ferries this week as school summer holidays begin in England.
With DFDS ships not expected to operate until tomorrow, holidaymakers heading to France are being advised to wait at Dover in the hope of boarding ships to Dunkirk.
Meanwhile, hundreds of returning tourists stranded in Calais face a scramble to board ferries from Dunkirk – a 35-minute drive from Calais and an extra half-hour sail to Britain.
It follows the chaos caused by striking French ferry workers at the Eurotunnel terminal, which has seen services sus- pended. Motorists have faced long queues, as well as the threat of migrants trying to clamber into their vehicles.
DFDS said yesterday that wildcat strikes had left the firm with ‘no access to the Calais port’, forcing sweeping last-minute cancellations.
Extra ships have been put on to sail to Dunkirk and a spokesman said a ‘rolling departure’ timetable would see ferries leave as quickly as possible. Passengers who don’t want to go to Dunkirk can receive refunds.
French workers are on strike over the possible loss of hundreds of jobs following the sale of the My Ferry Link company by Eurotunnel.
P&O said its ferries were unaffected by the strikes. Eurotunnel said its services were back to normal yesterday after delays of up to four hours over the weekend, but a spokesman warned further disruption was possible.