Eurotunnel boss says measures are in place for a second spike

Channel Tunnel group boss Jacques Gounon has said his firm is prepared for a second spike.

“We don’t want a second peak, but we are prepared to face one better than we did the first,” he said, noting precautionary measures such as passengers staying inside their cars during the shuttle.

Jacques Gounon is chairman at Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel, which manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between England and France.

The company also scrapped its mid-term objectives and slashed its 2020 outlook after coronavirus lockdowns hit truck and passenger travel in the first half of the year.

Provided lockdowns are not reintroduced, Getlink now says earnings will come in at £318.13 million for 2020, down from a previous guidance of £580 million in April.

For the first six months of 2020, Getlink’s earnings fell 52% with revenues down 29%.

Gounon said the group did not plan to cut investments in the second half of the year, which it considers important to keep the tunnel running, delivering passengers and freight across the English Channel.

The number of passengers crossing the Channel by Eurostar fell by 98% between April and June, after successive border closures, lockdowns and quarantine measures.

Getlink estimates that Eurostar traffic made up over 76% of London-Paris route market share last year.