Eurostar plans to operate more trains from London to Brussels and to Paris from mid-August.
The high-speed train company will also offer more trips from London and Paris at weekends, a spokeswoman confirmed to the dpa news agency. Traffic will be monitored and capacity adjusted if necessary, she added.
Eurostar, which links Britain and Europe via the Channel Tunnel, drastically reduced services in response to travel restrictions and measures put in place during the coronavirus pandemic.
Passenger numbers fell by 95% and scheduled services were reduced to one connection per day between London and Paris. Traffic between London and Amsterdam, via Brussels, was also greatly reduced from the 56 services per day running before the pandemic.
Eurostar has welcomed this development and has already seen a significant increase in bookings, despite continued uncertainty regarding travel rules and vaccine-related regulations.
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Fully vaccinated passengers from the European Union no longer have to quarantine upon arrival in UK, meaning services like the Eurostar become accessible for weekend trips.
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The measure, which went into effect last week, also applies to all fully vaccinated residents from the United States. In practical terms, this means that those who are fully vaccinated could avoid 10-days' isolation and not only those vaccinated in the UK.
In Belgium, however, the rules are yet to change for UK arrivals. According to official advice:
"Belgium has not yet confirmed that it will accept the UK solutions for demonstrating your COVID vaccination status. You should follow alternative advice for entry. Your NHS appointment card from vaccination centres is not designed to be used as proof of vaccination and should not be used to demonstrate your vaccine status."
Belgium has said it is currently taking steps to accept the UK’s NHS Covid Pass as proof of vaccination, which would mean that people vaccinated in the UK no longer have to quarantine upon arrival.
The Brussels Times
