Brittany Ferries will lay up ships and reduce services in the wake of new quarantine measures. The cross-Channel ferry operator says the first changes will come into force from the end of August.
Anyone returning from France must self-isolate for 14 days. The measures were introduced at the weekend, leading to a mass exodus from some European ports and airports, with Brits hoping to beat the 0400 Saturday deadline.
At the weekend, around 35,000 passengers cancelled or delayed their plans to travel with Brittany Ferries. This follows a warning from the company that it is experiencing a “disastrous summer season”.
The company carries around 2.6 million customers in a normal year – 85 percent of which are British.
Brittany Ferries has now confirmed that it is changing its schedule and taking three ships out of service. Around 50,000 passengers with existing books will be affected by the changes.
Christophe Mathieu, director general of Brittany Ferries, said: “We warned over the weekend that schedule changes were likely, as quarantine measures have led to a significant drop in demand for our services.
“This is not something we want to do. However, in the context of a terrible summer season we have no choice but to consolidate sailings that, by virtue of lack of passenger numbers, are uneconomic to run.
“These extraordinary decisions are regrettable and we apologise in advance to all those whose travel plans will be disrupted.”
Brittany Ferries: key changes
- Armorique, which serves the Plymouth to Roscoff route, will be laid up from 31 August.
- Pont-Aven will replace Armorique on the Plymouth to Roscoff route from 10 September, with three return trips per week. The ship will also operate one return sailing from Plymouth to Santander and Roscoff to Cork during the week.
- Bretagne, which serves the Portsmouth to St Malo route, will be laid up from 7 September.
- Etretat will not resume crossings.
- Connemara will continue to operate the Cherbourg and Le Havre routes from Portsmouth but will no longer serve Bilbao.
The company operates 12 ships serving 12 ports in the UK, France, Spain and Ireland. These are: Poole, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Roscoff, Saint-Malo, Le Havre, Cherbourg, Caen, Santander, Bilbao, Cork and Rosslare.
The Brittany Ferries call centre is expected to be busy over the coming days, so the company is asking passengers to wait for notification of any changes to their booking. Where possible, alternative arrangements should be made via the Brittany Ferries website.
Click here for more coronavirus travel updates and advice on the Brittany Ferries website.
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