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Eurotunnel traffic down 28% year-on-year for peak summer month

09:30, 08 September 2020

updated: 09:32, 08 September 2020

Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel says it saw one of the busiest days of the year last month as passengers rushed back after France was placed on the government's quarantine list .

After travel to our nearest continental neighbour was reopened on July 7, restrictions were reintroduced on August 15 with all travellers returning after the deadline told they must spend 14 days in self-imposed quarantine.

Eurotunnel passenger traffic has been hit hard by the pandemic
Eurotunnel passenger traffic has been hit hard by the pandemic

In a bid to beat the restrictions, the Le Shuttle service saw 11,600 vehicles carrying some 30,000 passengers rushed to beat the restrictions.

In revealing its traffic data for the month of August, the cross-Channel service said truck traffic was not far off pre-Covid levels.

It transported 110,327 trucks - just 7% down on the same month last year.

However, car traffic was down by more than 100,000 vehicles - a year-on-year decline of 28% .

A spokesman for Getlink, Eurotunnel's parent company, said: "With 110,327 trucks transported during August, Le Shuttle Freight has maintained its resilience in the current economic circumstances. Since the first of January 2020, almost 900,000 trucks have crossed the Channel on our shuttles."

Freight traffic is returning to normal levels after lockdown
Freight traffic is returning to normal levels after lockdown

More than one million passenger vehicles have used the service in the same period.

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