Britons braving ‘Manic Monday’ are today facing travel chaos on Eurostar after an IT glitch hit cross-Channel services between the UK and France.
Eurostar passengers say they are facing ‘nightmare’ queues at Gare Du Nord in Paris after a border control IT failure in France meant passengers could not board trains.
Pictures and video show huge queues at the terminal, where trains to London have been delayed by at least 30 minutes.
Some passengers say the queues are even longer – with one describing it as ‘carnage’ – while others said they are still waiting to board, despite Eurostar’s website saying their train has departed.
Queues have also started to build at the London end, with people seen waiting to board at St Pancras.
It comes as large queues – some even stretching out of the terminal building – were also seen at Manchester Airport this morning as a busy Easter Monday got underway.
At least 20 flights between Scotland and London have been cancelled by British Airways and easyJet. There have also been cancellations to Heathrow-bound flights from cities including Paris, Amsterdam and Geneva.
Meanwhile, the AA say up to 14million car journeys are expected to be made later for the rush to get home ahead of the working week.
The motoring group say roads are likely to be particularly busy today because all the traffic will be condensed into one day, unlike in the lead-up to Easter when it was staggered over several days.
Adding to the misery, more train passengers will push on the road with 530 rail upgrades – costing £83m – taking place tomorrow, experts say.
-
-
introduces Prince Harry: ‘I couldn’t love or respect him more’
-
Eurostar passengers say they are facing ‘nightmare’ queues at Gare Du Nord (pictured) in Paris after a border control IT failure in France meant passengers could not board trains
Pictures and video show huge queues at the terminal, where trains to London have been delayed by at least 30 minutes
Millions of people hit roads, airports and the railways during the Easter getaway, with today expected to be particularly busy. Pictured: Long queues at the Eurostar terminal at Gare Du Nord, Paris, today
Eurostar passengers waiting in a long line at the Gare du Nord in Paris this morning as they prepared to return to the UK