P&O Ferries suspends passenger services across Channel over Easter

Milton Keynes Britain city London Provident COST Booking Dover Suspends

14.04.2022 - 11:43

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theguardian.com:

P&O Ferries has suspended all passenger services on the Dover-Calais route over the Easter bank holiday weekend, causing further disruptions for UK travellers.

Two of the beleaguered ferry firm’s eight vessels – the Pride of Kent and Spirit of Britain – are still being detained by Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) over safety concerns, resulting in ferry shortages on a key route in the run-up the busy travel period.

The company confirmed in a tweet that it was cancelling all channel crossings over the Easter weekend.

<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>#PODover #POCalais for travel between 15/04 00:01 — 18/04 23:59, we will provide a full refund of your ticket. We will also pay back the difference in cost between your P&O Ferries ticket and your new booking with another operator. Claims should be sent to [email protected] 2/2

It adds to wider travel chaos in the UK, where staff shortfalls have led to flight cancellations and long waits at airports. Meanwhile, rail passengers have been warned of delays by Network Rail, which is carrying out 530 engineering upgrades on routes including on the west coast mainline from London Euston to Milton Keynes.

The AA estimates 27.6m car journeys could take place over the weekend. Motorists are advised to travel on Thursday or early on Saturday if they can, to give themselves the best chance of avoiding long queues.

Edmund King, the AA president, said: “All our polling suggests Good Friday will be the busiest getaway day for Easter trips and staycations. If some drivers can leave on Thursday or early Saturday, they may miss some of the jams.”

While the Department of Transport urged holidaymakers to plan ahead and allow extra time for travel, long queues were already forming near the port