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Eurotunnel passengers face delays due to 'migrant activity' Eurotunnel passengers face delays due to 'migrant activity'
(about 5 hours later)
Passengers trying to cross the channel are facing disruption again as services are delayed after being briefly suspended due to “migrant activity” in Calais. Passengers using the shuttle to cross the Channel are facing hours of delays following a brief suspension of services due to migrant activity at the French side of the tunnel.
Eurotunnel confirmed shortly before midnight on Friday that they had suspended services on both sides of the channel, but around 20 minutes later said they were resuming, subject to delays. Those booked to take their vehicle to the continent are being warned of an hour delay to check in and a further four hours before departure, Eurotunnel said.
The operator tweeted: “Please be assured we always work hard to maintain the highest levels of security at our Calais terminal.”
It added: “Please be aware it will take time to return the service to normal as it’s a busy day. We’re working hard to reduce the waiting time.”
It said French authorities are dealing with migrant activity at the French terminal. Migrants invading the Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles has become a nightly occurrence.
Related: Operation Stack: when disrupted Channel crossings lead to extreme traffic controlRelated: Operation Stack: when disrupted Channel crossings lead to extreme traffic control
The migrant crisis in Calais, wildcat strike action by ferry workers and protesting farmers mean truckers are spending hours stuck in queues in Kent and northern France. There were delays to the service on Thursday when the body of a suspected migrant was found on the roof of a Eurotunnel train at the Chunnel terminal in Folkestone. The operator suspended services for a brief period shortly before midnight due to “migrant activity”, adding that French authorities were dealing with the situation. It tweeted: “Please be assured we always work hard to maintain the highest levels of security at our Calais terminal.”
The news came as video footage emerged apparently showing migrants travelling to Britain on empty freight train carriages. A number of people are seen in an otherwise empty carriage that arrived in Folkestone earlier this month, in footage from a worker obtained by the Sun. Le Shuttle, which takes passengers across the Channel in cars, caravans, buses or other vehicles, usually operates up to four crossings an hour.
An estimated 5,000 migrants displaced from countries including Syria, Libya and Eritrea are now believed to be camped in and around Calais. Freight transport chiefs said Britain’s freight industry is losing £750,000 a day because of the huge problems lorry drivers have faced this summer trying to cross the Channel. All services for Saturday are sold out, the website shows.
Operation Stack – where freight traffic is queued on sections of the M20 when cross-Channel services are disrupted – remains in place, and Kent police warned it could continue until at least Sunday. Journeys from France to the UK are now running on time, with three departures every hour, but passengers in Folkestone are facing waits of up to five hours.
Replying to a passenger hoping to cross on a service just after midday Eurotunnel said: “It’s not easy to estimate how long the delays will take to resolve. We’re all doing our best.”
The first Eurostar service, which carries passengers only, departed on time at 6.18am with all other services running on time, according to its website. Migrants invading the Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles has become a nightly occurrence.
There were delays to the service on Thursday when the body of a suspected migrant was found on the roof of a Eurotunnel train at the Chunnel terminal in Folkestone. The news came as video footage emerged apparently showing migrants travelling to Britain on empty freight train carriages.
An estimated 5,000 migrants displaced from countries including Syria, Libya and Eritrea are now believed to be camped in and around Calais.
Freight transport chiefs said Britain’s freight industry is losing 750,000 a day because of the huge problems lorry drivers have faced this summer trying to cross the Channel.
Operation Stack – where freight traffic is queued on sections of the M20 when cross-Channel services are disrupted – remains in place, and Kent Police warned it could continue until at least tomorrow.