United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
DFDS looks to axe Portsmouth-Le Havre route
DFDS Seaways is looking to axe its Portsmouth-Le Havre route due to it being ‘economically unsustainable’.
The ferry operator announced it is entering a period of consultation on the viability of the service following a meeting with unions.
DFDS Seaways France took over the Portsmouth-Le Havre service in 2012 as part of its joint-venture with LD Lines.
But both LD Lines and DFDS Seaways France have consistently recorded heavy financial losses on the service since 2005.
DFDS said it has worked hard to cut costs on the route to make it more competitive, including replacing the Norman Voyager ship with a smaller vessel, whose capacity is more in line with the size of the market, as well as sales and marketing initiatives.
But it added that unfortunately, the service remained economically unsustainable.
Passenger and freight customers currently booked onto the service will not be affected by this process, and all bookings that have been made will be honoured.
DFDS said if the service does close, the Seven Sisters ship and its crew, which currently operate the route on charter from the Seine Maritime Conseil General 76 as an annexe service, would return to the ship’s owner.
In the UK, DFDS operates passenger ferry services on routes from Dover to Calais, Dover to Dunkirk, Harwich to Esbjerg, Newcastle to Amsterdam, Newhaven to Dieppe and Portsmouth to Le Havre.
Diane
Mark Jaronski of Explore Georgia on FIFA World Cup 2026
Connecting Small Businesses to Global Tourism Markets: Nate Huff of Tourism Exchange
North Carolina’s Resilience: Wit Tuttell on Recovery and Tourism
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail
Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
BA suspending all Heathrow to Abu Dhabi flights
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Woman dies after going overboard in English Channel
Foreign Office issues travel advisory for winter sun destinations