News Categories

Ferry Destination News

Articles by Year

2012 - Archive

May 2012 (34 Articles)
April 2012 (43 Articles)
March 2012 (49 Articles)
February 2012 (42 Articles)
January 2012 (64 Articles)

Demand for ferries soars as volcanic ash disruption continues

Ferry services are gearing up for another day of high passenger numbers as the blanket ban on air travel across the UK was re-introduced as the volcanic ash cloud continues to cause disruption.

The current restrictions on flights will stay in place until at least 01:00 Sunday (18th) morning, as hopes were dashed that the cloud would begin to clear. The UK's Air Navigation Services Provider, NATS reports on it'sweb site that it is "most unlikely that many flights will operate today", and some experts are predicting that the restrictions will continue for much longer.

Amongst this travel chaos ferry companies had another extremely busy day yesterday as travellers looked for alternative ways to reach their destination, and many reported a big boost in passenger numbers. Stena Line said that it carried an extra 5,000 passengers to Ireland yesterday and LD Lines have experienced a 50% increase in both car and foot passengers.

Despite this unprecedented demand, many operators still have availability on services across the UK to Ireland and Europe. Brittany Ferries have announced that they have plenty of cross-channel space this weekend, and SeaFrancee have said that they continue to have some space despite seeing a huge surge in bookings with a 100% increase in foot passengers alone.

P&O Ferries have announced they have no more foot passenger space on their Dover-Calais ferry route until Monday, but there is room for car passengers and on their Irish Sea and routes from Hull to Zeebrugge and Rotterdam. Of course, with aferry.co.uk you can find the latest availability on all routes by using our price comparison tool to see the latest prices and times. Those looking to find more travel advice on the volcanic ash disruption can find information online at sources such as travelsupermarket.com.

One extra passenger on a ferry across the Irish Sea was Whitney Houston, who refused to let the volcanic ash cloud stop her travelling. The singer had performed in Birmingham and travelled by car to Holyhead where she caught a ferry to Dublin on order to make the next leg of her European tour.