P&O Ferries has suspended all passenger services on the Dover-Calais route over the Easter weekend, causing further disruption to UK travelers.
Two of the trapped ferry company’s eight ships – the Pride of Kent and Spirit of Britain – are still being held by the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency (MCA) due to safety concerns, leading to a shortage of ferries on a major route in the lead up to the busy travel period. .
The company confirmed in a tweet that it had canceled all crossings of the canal during the Easter holiday, and said it would offer alternative routes or refunds to affected travelers.
The company allows customers to transfer to its ferries crossing Hull, landing in Rotterdam, or to Brittany Ferry with routes running between Portsmouth and Caen in France.
P&O added that it will reimburse customers for any additional miles, in addition to meals on board any overnight flights, plus a 25% discount on the original fare.
“We unreservedly apologize to all customers whose scheduled flights with us between Dover and Calais have been canceled while we were unable to sail,” a P&O spokesperson said.
“We also understand that these options will not be suitable for everyone, so any customer who has booked directly with P&O Ferries will be able to claim a full refund and a free flight for future travel,” the company added.
#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 help@poferries.com 2/2
— P&O Ferries Updates (@POferriesupdate) April 13, 2022
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#PODover #POCalais For travel between 04/15/ 00:01 – 04/18 23:59, we will refund the full value of your ticket. We will also refund the difference in cost between your P&O Ferries ticket and your new reservation with another operator. Claims should be sent to help@poferries.com 2/2
– P&O Ferries updates (POferriesupdate) April 13, 2022
P&O’s difficulties are adding to the wider travel chaos in the UK, where staff shortages 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 roads including the main line on the west coast from London Euston to Milton Keynes.
The AA estimates that 27.6 million car trips could take place over the weekend. Motorists are advised to travel on Thursday or as early as Saturday if they can, to give themselves the best chance of avoiding long queues.
Edmund King, President of the AA, said: “All of our surveys indicate that Good Friday will be the busiest holiday for Easter rides and accommodations. If some drivers manage to leave on Thursday or early Saturday, they may miss some congestion.”
While the Department of Transportation urged vacationers to plan ahead and allow extra travel time, long queues were already forming near the Port of Dover Thursday morning. Transport Secretary Robert Kurz said his department was “working closely with operators to reduce disruption”.
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P&O had been planning to resume cross-channel services between Dover and Calais for the Easter weekend, but MCA said on Wednesday it would not release the two ships until the agency was satisfied they could “meet Port State Control System requirements and are safe to sail.”
The agency, which inspects all eight P&O Ferries, first impounded the Pride of Kent on March 28 after an inspection failed and said Wednesday it had discovered additional shortcomings after a reassessment.
The Spirit of Britain was arrested this week, exacerbating problems for the company, which is under fire for firing all 800 UK workers and replacing them with cheaper foreign agency workers in March.
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