News
Passenger services to resume on 29 June, Brittany Ferries confirms
Brittany Ferries is pleased to confirm a limited return to scheduled passenger services this summer. In all, five ships will carry passengers when services resume from next Monday, 29 June. A further three ships covering four routes will re-open to passengers in July.
The following confirms ships, routes and re-opening dates for passengers next week:
Week beginning 29 June
| Ship | Route | Date of first sailing | Time and port of departure |
| Mont St Michel | Portsmouth – Caen | 29th June 2020 | 08:30 departing Caen |
| Cap Finistère | Portsmouth -Bilbao | 29th June 2020 | 00:30 departing Portsmouth |
| Armorique | Plymouth – Roscoff | 29th June 2020 | 15:00 departing Roscoff |
| Pont-Aven | Portsmouth – Santander – | 30th June 2020 | 17:45 departing Portsmouth |
| Plymouth – Roscoff – | 2nd July 2020 | 20:45 departing Plymouth | |
| Cork – Roscoff | 3rd July 2020 | 20:30 departing Roscoff | |
| Plymouth – Santander | 5th July 2020 | 16:45 departing Plymouth | |
| Kerry | Rosslare – Roscoff | 29th June 2020 | 23:30 departing Rosslare |
| Rosslare – Bilbao | 1st July 2020 | 11:00 departing Rosslare |
Three more ships will resume passenger services in July:
| Ship | Route | Date of first sailing | Time and port of departure |
| Normandie | Portsmouth – Caen | 12th July 2020 | 23:00 departing Caen |
| Bretagne | Portsmouth – St Malo | 17th July 2020 | 10:30 departing St Malo |
| Connemara
(NB: originally scheduled for Spanish sailings this summer) |
Portsmouth – Cherbourg (Thurs – Sunday) | 10th July 2020 | 09:00 departing Portsmouth |
| Portsmouth – Le Havre (Monday – Weds) | 12th July 2020 | 23:45 departing Portsmouth |
With regret and following careful consideration, Brittany Ferries confirms the decision not to operate the following three ships this summer. This is due to a combination of unpredictable demand on these services and shortage of available cabins, based on ship configuration.
| Ship | Route affected |
| Étretat | Portsmouth – Le Havre* |
| Barfleur | Poole – Cherbourg |
| Normandie Express | Portsmouth – Cherbourg* |
*note: Portsmouth-Le Havre and Portsmouth-Cherbourg will be served by Connemara (see first table above)
The safety of passengers, freight drivers and crew has been the top priority for Brittany Ferries throughout the Covid-19 crisis. As such, passenger capacity will be limited on all vessels. Capacity limits will be ship dependent, and will be reviewed as the summer progresses. However, all services connecting France and the UK for example will be limited to 550 passengers from 29 June. This measure reduces capacity by more than 60%, and will apply until mid-July at the earliest.
A range of new sanitary and social distancing measures will also be imposed on all vessels. These measures go above and beyond compliance with statutory guidance in countries served by the company.
In preparation for the resumption of passenger sailings, Brittany Ferries has drawn-up a 12-point guide to safe travel this summer. Part of the company’s Together & Protected campaign, the guide is based on new safety measures and is designed to inform, reassure and prepare all those thinking about ferry travel, as well as those who are about to embark on holiday.
Brittany Ferries 12-point guide to safe travel this summer
- Passengers may be required by national or local authorities to fill-in a health form prior to travel. If you are unwell, please stay at home.
- Passengers must check-in at least 90 minutes before departure
- Boarding and disembarkation will be staggered, to avoid queues.
- Masks must be worn while boarding, disembarking and in public areas on board
- Wash hands regularly, use hand sanitisers – and follow all crew instructions
- Customers are asked to read onboard signs and to respect physical distancing guidance in all public areas
- A cabin or reserved seat is compulsory on all sailings. To minimise contact with others, remain in this personal space as much as possible
- Fresh sea air is supplied in all public areas on board, including cabins
- Enhanced cleaning with virucidal cleaners will take place during and between sailings
- In restaurants and bars, meal choices may be limited and space adapted to comply with new safety protocols
- In all public areas, crew will wear masks when interacting with passengers
- Medical assistance is available in the event of a suspected COVID-19 case, including a dedicated cabin for isolation
Other measures defined by Brittany Ferries’ chief doctor are also in place, including full crew training and a dedicated nurse on all sailings.
All measures are already well practised. From late March to May, the company has been carrying only essential freight. This has allowed it to implement, practise and fine-tune measures on board working with lorry drivers. Brittany Ferries would like to thank all crew for adapting quickly and professionally to many new procedures. Thanks also to drivers, carrying cargos such as fresh food and medicines, for their understanding and compliance with strict measures imposed during the worst of the crisis.
“We are very much looking forward to welcoming holiday makers back on board starting on Monday,” said Christophe Mathieu, CEO Brittany Ferries. “Operationally, we have put in place everything for a safe return to service and we have practised these measures daily. Our job now is to reassure passengers that ferries are open for business and that travel by sea is the safest way to enjoy an international holiday. It won’t be quite the same Brittany Ferries experience on board of course, at least to start with. However, it will still be a relaxing sea bridge to take you to the beautiful destinations you have been dreaming of during lockdown.”
Ferry travel lends itself well to social distancing by virtue of open deck areas, wide public spaces and comfortable cabins. Brittany Ferries passengers for example can board and alight in the safety and comfort of their own car. When directed by a member of the crew, they head straight for an en-suite cabin and may choose to spend the entire journey in their own space on board. Crew will let them know when it is time to leave their cabin and re-join their vehicle, with staggered disembarkation to avoid queues in stairwells or lifts.
Relief as links return
Working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Brittany Ferries has worked to repatriate limited numbers of British citizens stranded in Spain and Portugal in the last months. Some passengers have therefore already experienced the new normal on board freight services linking Spain and the UK.
However a return to scheduled passenger services will be welcomed by tens of thousands of additional British customers. This includes holiday makers of course, but also thousands who make regular ferry journeys to second homes in regions of Normandy and Brittany. In addition there are many hundreds of businesses in the south and south west that rely on the links by sea from the UK to northwest France and northern Spain.
-Ends-
Key figures:
- Turnover: Approximately €444.2m per year
- Employment – Between 2400 and 3100 employees (including 1,700 seafarers), depending on the season. 360 in the UK.
- Passengers: Between 2.5 and 2.7 million each year travelling in approximately 900,000 cars
- Freight: 205,400 units transported annually, and one freight-only route linking Bilbao and Poole
- In normal times, twelve ships operate services that connect France, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain
- Twelve ports in total: Bilbao, Santander, Portsmouth, Poole, Plymouth, Cork, Rosslare, Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre, Saint-Malo, Roscoff
- At present five freight routes in operation: Portsmouth-Caen, Porstmouth-Cherbourg, Portsmouth-Santander, Bilbao-Poole, Bilbao-Rosslare
- Tourism in Europe: There were 854,000 unique visitors, staying 9.2 million bed-nights in France.
www.brittanyferriesnewsroom.com.
Contact:
Christopher Jones [email protected]
Nigel Wonnacott [email protected]