- France decides to block lorries arriving from the UK for 48 hours in response to the emergence of a new strain of Covid-19.
- It will have a “devastating effect” on the supply of food and other consumer goods to Britain.
- The French government suspended all passenger and human-handled freight transport from the UK to France for 48 hours from 11pm GMT.
According to a recent news report in The Guardian, written by Lisa O’ Carroll, Covid Freight bans by France to have a major impact on UK.
Freight ban
Eurotunnel said access to its Folkestone terminal would be suspended for passenger and freight traffic from 11pm, adding: “Customers with bookings after this time are advised NOT to travel to the terminal as they will not be able to cross to France.”
Port of Dover
The Port of Dover said on Sunday evening it was closing to all lorry traffic, tweeting: “Ferry terminal at the Port of Dover is closed to all accompanied traffic leaving the UK until further notice due to border restrictions in France.” It asked “accompanied freight [trucks] and passenger customers not to travel to the port”.
Impact of the ban
The ban is expected to cause chaos at ports including Dover and Portsmouth.
The prospect of trucks destined for France being held up on the British side of the Channel alongside their drivers for a full two days.
Logistics UK, which represents freight owners from supermarkets to factories, said it was “very concerned about the welfare of drivers travelling from the UK to France at this time and is urgently seeking more information for our members”.
Drivers on the French side have had to queue for hours to get back into Britain.
There are additional police security checks for migrants causing major tailbacks of up to 17km (10.5 miles).
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Source: The Guardian
