Travel operators braced for hit as France curbs trips from UK

Travel firms are braced for thousands of cancellations after France curbed U.K. arrivals in a bid to slow the omicron variant of Covid-19, limiting trips at what’s usually one of the busiest times of the year. Eurostar International, which operates high-speed trains from London to Paris via the Channel Tunnel, said customers are “once again facing disruption during the Christmas travel period,” after similar upheaval last year. The French plan comes after the UK recorded 78,610 positive Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, the most since the start of the pandemic. The daily tally jumped to more than 88,000 on Thursday. The measures, which kick in at midnight on Friday, effectively ban leisure and business visits by Britons while reducing the validity of coronavirus tests to 24 hours and requiring arrivals to self-isolate for up to seven days. French citizens and their families as well as residents can return home. Among airlines, EasyJet Plc is most exposed to the U.K.-France market in the next two weeks, with 419 scheduled flights, followed by Air France on 217 and British Airways with 179, according to aviation data provider Cirium. Some 81 flights, equating to almost 14,000 seats, are scheduled for Saturday, when the restrictions begin. British Airways is keeping its operations to France under review, a spokesman said. Discount specialist EasyJet didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.<br/>