French Port Strike Brings Travel Chaos
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
A strike by French ferry workers is causing travel chaos in the south of England and Eurostar services from London are experiencing long delays.
Calais strike is over - but motorists still face lengthy delays. Sailings have been resumed following the protests and the Channel Tunnel has reopened after protesting French ferry workers got on to the tracks.
All services to and from the UK Port of Dover have been affected by the strike.
Workers at MyFerryLink have voted in favour of ending the industrial action and return to work after blockading the Port of Calais, as well as having Eurotunnel services suspended.
Traffic jams are mounting on motorway stretches near Dover as lorries destined for Calais wait until service resumes.
The Port of Calais was closed during a strike by MyFerryLink workers, who blockaded the port in a protest over job cuts, the BBC reports. British travellers have been left stranded as a result of the action and Eurostar journeys from St Pancras International were put on hold.
Service has only recently resumed but passengers have been told to expect delays of more than two hours.
Tim Waggott, Chief Executive of the Port of Dover says: “We are extremely conscious of the economic importance of the key trade and tourist route operated by ourselves, our sister ports in France and of course the Channel Tunnel. Our attention is currently focussed on mitigating the impact of the present situation to the very best of our ability.”