Eurostar to scrap trains from London to Disneyland Paris
EUROSTAR has said it will axe direct trains between London and Disneyland Paris over concerns about new Brussels rules that will require passengers to give their fingerprints.
The Channel Tunnel operator will scrap services from the British capital to Marne-la-vallee in eastern Paris next summer in a further blow to holidaymakers. Families will have to travel via
Lille or Paris to reach Disneyland. Executives criticised the introduction of the European Union’s new entry and exit system, which will require arrivals from outside the Schengen free travel area to have their fingerprints scanned and a photograph taken so they can be registered on to a database.
It is feared that this will significantly slow down travel and spark a wave of bureaucracy when it comes into force in May next year. Eurostar blamed the decision on Brexit and its postpandemic recovery, saying: “We have taken the decision not to run the direct Disney service in summer 2023.
“While we continue to recover financially from the pandemic and monitor developments in the proposed EU entry/exit system, we need to focus on our core routes to ensure we can continue to provide the high level of service and experience our customers expect.”
The decision will hurt the hundreds of thousands of British tourists who visit the amusement park each year.
It also comes a week after Eurostar confirmed that its trains will not stop in Kent for up to three years, dashing hopes of a return of services in 2023.
Eurostar added that it would review options for the Disney route for 2024 over the course of next year. The service has operated since 1996, apart from a suspension during the pandemic, and takes just two hours and 24 minutes.