Thousands of British holidaymakers have been trying to return home from France in an attempt to avoid new quarantine restrictions imposed by the UK government.
The rush came after the government announced late on Thursday that all people arriving in the UK from France, where Covid-19 infections rates are high, would need to self-isolate for 14 days from Saturday onwards. The rule change, which came into force at 4 a.m. BST Saturday, also applies to those traveling to the UK from the Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks and Caicos Islands and Aruba. Transport operators noted a steep surge in demand as people booked last-minute tickets in a race to beat the Saturday morning deadline. The Eurotunnel Le Shuttle train service, which transports vehicles between France and the UK, was fully booked on Friday as a result of the increased demand, according to PA Media. A spokesperson for the service told the news agency that 12,000 people attempted to buy tickets in the hour after the government’s announcement on Thursday, compared to the hundreds of requests it usually receives over the same time period. Will Bowen,24, a British tourist who is on holiday with some friends near Paris until Sunday, told CNN that while he understood the decision, he believed the government could have given holidaymakers more notice.
