These pictures show long queues for Eurostar from St Pancras today as delays hit rail links to France as well as ferries. Frustrated travellers say there were over 1,000 people queueing from around 10am to 11am.
They said the queue went from each end of the station - about 250 metres - and people were waiting outside one point. One traveller said: ''A station announcement apologised for delays, saying, ‘due to tighter rules for travel and enhanced COVID checks, the checking process is taking longer than usual’.
''It took me about an hour from joining the queue to reach the departure lounge, which was packed with hundreds of people. 'Quite a lot of passengers obviously stressed and confused.
''In fairness staff were on hand and being quite helpful with questions and organising the queue. At passport control Brits/non-EU holders were sent to manned booths rather than those automatic scanning ones.
''I counted nine French border officials checking/stamping passports - all the passport booths were occupied from what I could see. Covid passports were also scanned manually by Eurostar staff before getting to passport control.
''Luggage checks were very smooth. But before that only two out of seven ticket checking booths were manned and one of three business class booths was manned.
'There were about four automatic ticket gates too but they didn’t seem to be working for everyone. The 11.04 Amsterdam train was delayed by almost an hour.
''My train (12.31 to Paris) was on time and they said via announcement it wouldn’t leave until all passengers had cleared ticket/luggage/passport checks.
''The departures lounge was rammed with hundreds of people when I came in at about 11.50am but cleared out once earlier and delayed trains to Amsterdam and Paris trains had boarded.''
