800 lorries trapped on the premises of an old airport. 650 lorries stuck on the motorway to Calais. The mutated coronavirus and the decision by a majority of European countries to close their borders have plunged the UK into chaos.
The Luxembourg-based shipping company Wallenborn Transports works with UK businesses on a regular basis. On average, between 80 and 100 of the company's lorries cross the Channel Tunnel every day on their way to the UK.
Since Monday, 63 Wallenborn lorries have been stuck in England. Some of the drivers will move on to Ireland or Scotland respectively. However, others had planned to be with their families on Christmas. The mutated virus has thrown a wrench into all of those plans.
Video report in Luxembourgish:
Wallenborn's Pitt Ney stated that the staff is doing everything in their power to try and bring the drivers back home for Christmas. Some will be able to take a ferry to the Netherlands.
However, this is far from a solution. The number of ferries is limited and most of them are already fully booked until the end of January. The company is mostly dependent on political decisions. Decisions by the Luxembourg authorities, but mainly also by the French government as the Channel Tunnel connects the UK to the French mainland.
Ney explains that, according to the latest information available to the company, the drivers require a Covid-19 test result in order to cross the French border. The company's employees have already found a testing centre and are currently trying to get all of their drivers tested.
Traffic across the English Channel has been increasing steadily over the past months. Wallenborn Transports' management expects that this trend will continue until the end of February. The company hopes that political leaders will be able to quickly find a solution so that its drivers can once again cross the Channel Tunnel safely and with all sanitary guarantees.
