Christmas canceled COVID blamed for delivery delays
As global trade recovers, shipping and air freight capacity is in short supply, in some cases threatening Christmas deliveries. The problem is particularly acute in the UK, just as the next Brexit deadline looms.
Delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic and a shortage of containers have caused severe bottle necks at busy ports
The Port of Felixstowe on England s eastern coast has for months struggled to process thousands of shipping containers delivering vital goods for the pandemic-hit UK economy.
The abrupt halt to world trade when the coronavirus first struck earlier this year, left the port which processes around 40% of the UK s container traffic facing an unprecedented crisis.
COVID-19 pandemic blamed for delivery delays
By: Times News Service
London: The Port of Felixstowe on England s eastern coast has for months struggled to process thousands of shipping containers delivering vital goods for the pandemic-hit UK economy.
The abrupt halt to world trade when the coronavirus first struck earlier this year, left the port which processes around 40 per cent of the UK s container traffic facing an unprecedented crisis.
Pressured to accommodate thousands of empty shipping containers, Felixstowe also had to prioritize the hasty arrival of personal protective equipment (PPE) meant for hospitals, including medical gowns, masks and visors. Eleven months after COVID-19 was first reported in the country, a mountain of PPE is still sitting at the port.
Covid-19: Serious disruption feared as Dover halts traffic to France
Published
image copyrightPA Media
The government and trade groups have warned of serious disruption after France blocked arrivals of UK passengers for 48 hours over concerns about the new coronavirus variant.
Freight lorries cannot cross by sea or through the Eurotunnel and the Port of Dover has closed to outbound traffic.
About 10,000 lorries a day travel between Dover and Calais during peak periods such as Christmas.
UK ministers will discuss the move at a Cobra emergency committee on Monday.
On Sunday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps urged the public and hauliers not to travel to ports in Kent, saying significant disruption was likely in the area.
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Boris Johnson will chair an urgent Cobra meeting on Monday after the France-UKborder closure brought Dover ferry traffic and rail services to a standstill.
The Eurotunnel announced it was suspending access to its Folkestone terminal on Sunday after the spread of a mutant strain of Covid-19 prompted several European countries to halt UK flights.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister will chair a COBR meeting tomorrow to discuss the situation regarding international travel, in particular the steady flow of freight into and out of the UK.