Travellers are opting to take their cars through the Channel Tunnel rather than fly. The latest figures show a much smaller slump for the vehicle-carrying shuttles than for air.
In July, passenger traffic between Folkestone and Calais on Eurotunnel was down barely one-fifth on the same month in the previous year.
On the last day of the month, an average of one private car every seven seconds was entering the terminal at either end of the link.
The performance is particularly significant because, for the first nine days of July, anyone entering the UK from France was required to quarantine for two weeks – dampening demand for travel.
On Eurotunnel, drivers and passengers can stay in their vehicles while passing though the terminal at each end of the link, pausing only for passport checks before driving on to the shuttle train. They then remain in the vehicle during the 35-minute journey.
The service now brands itself: “The safer way to France.”
During July, Eurotunnel carried 233,172 vehicles – of which over 5 per cent were on the last day of the month, with 12,239 passenger vehicles loaded on board shuttles. That equates to one car every seven seconds.
For comparison, the main airlines flying from the UK – British Airways, easyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair – are operating below half of their planned services for the summer.
Overall, though, 2020 has proved a dismal year so far for Eurotunnel. Between January and July, passenger traffic was down by almost half,. while freight loads were down by one-sixth.
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Sandcastle on the beach at Deauville, c. 1900
Marc Walter Collection
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The Observatory Fountain, or Fountain of the Four Parts of the World, by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, 1890
Marc Walter Collection
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Paris, painter in the Rue de l’Abreuvoir, Montmartre, c. 1910
Marc Walter Collection
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Cabourg, a concert at the bandstand, c. 1900
Marc Walter Collection
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Notre-Dame seen from Quai Saint-Michel
Marc Walter Collection
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Gérardmer, skiers on the Franco-German border, 1913
Marc Walter Collection
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Mont Saint-Michel from the northeast, c.1890
Marc Walter Collection
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Mountaineers at the Grands Mulets hut, on the first stage of the ascent of Mont Blanc, where hikers arrived at sunset after a day of walking
Marc Walter Collection
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Carnac, Kermario standing stones, 1898
Marc Walter Collection
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Dieppe, the beach and casino
Marc Walter Collection
11/11 France around 1900. A Portrait in Color
Marc Walter, Sabine Arqué. Hardcover, 29 x 39.5 cm, 636 pages. £150
1/11
Sandcastle on the beach at Deauville, c. 1900
Marc Walter Collection
2/11
The Observatory Fountain, or Fountain of the Four Parts of the World, by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, 1890
Marc Walter Collection
3/11
Paris, painter in the Rue de l’Abreuvoir, Montmartre, c. 1910
Marc Walter Collection
4/11
Cabourg, a concert at the bandstand, c. 1900
Marc Walter Collection
5/11
Notre-Dame seen from Quai Saint-Michel
Marc Walter Collection
6/11
Gérardmer, skiers on the Franco-German border, 1913
Marc Walter Collection
7/11
Mont Saint-Michel from the northeast, c.1890
Marc Walter Collection
8/11
Mountaineers at the Grands Mulets hut, on the first stage of the ascent of Mont Blanc, where hikers arrived at sunset after a day of walking
Marc Walter Collection
9/11
Carnac, Kermario standing stones, 1898
Marc Walter Collection
10/11
Dieppe, the beach and casino
Marc Walter Collection
11/11 France around 1900. A Portrait in Color
Marc Walter, Sabine Arqué. Hardcover, 29 x 39.5 cm, 636 pages. £150
In a wider survey of transport modes conducted for The Independent, ferries were rated way ahead of other modes of transport as the preferred way to travel in the era of coronavirus.
The Twitter poll with over 6,600 votes showed support for ferries at 43 per cent, ahead of rail (which, includes Eurotunnel) at 29 per cent and air at 23 per cent.
Bus travel was favoured by only 5 per cent of self-selecting respondents.