PARIS, May 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hundreds of Eurostar passengers are being held up at Gare du Nord in Paris due to a technical issue.
Eurostar said in a statement that a problem with UK Border Force e-gates had caused services to be delayed.
“We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience caused,” the company said, advising customers to postpone their journeys to London if possible.
Hundreds of people were waiting at the Paris station on Thursday afternoon, many of them families with young children on their half-term break.
E-gates are self-service barriers which automatically read travellers’ passports. Passengers heading to London on the Eurostar go through both French and British passport control before getting on the train.
Services leaving London were also delayed, Eurostar’s service updates showed.
At Gare du Nord on Thursday, passengers heading to London were told to expect severe delays or last-minute cancellations. About 300 people could be seen standing in the queue to get to the immigration desk at the station.
Eurostar said: “A technical problem is affecting the UK Border Forces e-gates at Gare du Nord, which is causing major delays on trains to London.
“We are awaiting the intervention of a technician to resolve this problem as quickly as possible and reduce the impact on our passengers.
“Eurostar teams are taking all measures to make sure that those who need to travel will be able to arrive in London.
“We advise those who can, to postpone their journey. We are offering affected customers exchanges free of charge or a full refund of their journey.
“We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience caused.” — NNN-AGENCIES
