Eurostar delays: passengers warned not to travel amid five-hour queues at Paris border control

Jacob Jarvis16 March 2019

Mammoth five-hour long queues have formed at the Eurostar in Paris due to ongoing issues at border control.

Eurostar bosses have warned people not to travel and to expect huge delays if they insist on doing so.

A statement from Eurostar said: "The congestions in Paris Gare Du Nord is ongoing and queues are over 5 hours long, we are still advising passengers to not travel unless absolutely necessary as there is a strong possibility we will not be able to get you home tonight."

Responding to a complaint about the wait on Twitter, a Eurostar representative wrote: "We are aware of queues and can only apologise as the customs is not under our control as it is run by french douane who are taking industrial action."

Gigantic lines of people squeezed into the station, while screens said "departures are very disrupted".

One traveller attempting the trip to London, Tom Halverson, told the Standard: "It is a fairly calm atmosphere for the most part. People are just getting restless. We’ve been in line almost five hours."

Tom Halverson

He is on vacation with his family from Arizona.

His daughter Ally, who is joined by her brother and mother too for their spring vacation, told the Standard she was getting tired and there were no bathrooms to go to either.

She said people were confused and they did not know "when the line will be over and if we'll be able to travel to London tonight".

Another, sharing a clip of the bored passengers, wrote: "Line hasn't moved at all in the last 50 minutes, only EU passport holders are moving at all."

The issues are linked to industrial action from customs officers aiming to improve their pay and demonstrate the possible chaos at border checks in a "no-deal" scenario.

Families could be seen sat on the floor as they attempted to get comfortable for the wait.

One person shared an image of a group playing cards on Twitter and wrote: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade....families and friends making the most of severe delays on Eurostar due to strikes."

The Standard has contacted Eurostar for further information.

All unions representing customs officers working at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport also called for strikes until April 1.

Anne Asoulay-Fravel, a customs official from the French General Confederation of Labour union, previously told FRANCE 24: "This movement is going to last."

She said she had never seen so many colleagues involved in a strike.

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