France: Omicron travel restrictions discussed by McCann

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Observing a steep rise in the number of Covid cases, non-essential travel to France from Britain has been banned from midnight on Friday. Anguished travellers documented their experience on social media asking the authorities to fix the loopholes in the process.

One of the commuters, Rebecca, tweeted: “I’ve been stuck in the standstill traffic at Dover for well over 3 hours now; my ferry was due to depart at 22.50.

“Does this mean I will have missed it or will I be put on the next available ferry? Please advise, I’m very stressed!!”

Another traveller, Jamie, tweeted: “Why are some lanes of traffic moving whilst some haven’t moved for the past 3 hours?

“It’s COLD and this is getting ridiculous. Sort it out.”

DFDS Ferry Travel, a Danish international shipping and logistics company, was quick enough to apologize to its customers on Twitter who reported heavy delays to their journeys.

The travel company warned customers to allow two hours to complete the check-in process and border controls due to increased checks and large numbers of passengers.

It tweeted: “Please be advised the Port is experiencing high volumes of traffic due to new regulations to enter France.

“The Port is working with partners to try & get traffic away as soon as possible. Check with your ferry operator for updates.”

A Port of Dover spokesperson told KentOnline: “The changes announced by the French reflect the continuing challenges posed to our key international tourist route.

“Due to the existing barrier of Covid-19, tourism volumes through this gateway are already significantly reduced and these recent changes are another dampener on the pre-Christmas getaway.

“We urge customers to contact their chosen ferry operator for the latest information and to follow government travel advice.

“HGV drivers are exempt from these changes and freight continues to move through the port in order to ensure goods reach their destinations, keeping shelves stacked for Christmas.”

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The Port of Dover said the numbers of vehicles on the roadway on Friday were typical for this time of year but it noted higher volumes of tourist and freight traffic.

The fresh travel restrictions putting a ban on Brits from entering France were imposed after the UK reported over 93,000 cases of Covid-19 in a day, the highest daily total since the start of the pandemic.

France, on the other hand, has reported 240 total confirmed cases of Omicron according to data from December 16.

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