Eurostar boss said its trains between the UK and Paris are carrying 30% fewer passengers.
Managing Director Gwendoline Cazenave said there were “bottlenecks” at stations with post-Brexit border controls and the current staffing levels at the border.
Eurostar currently operates 14 services per day between London and Paris, compared to 18 in 2019.
Ms Cazenave said the company may not be able to restore some services that were suspended last year due to the problems.
“The thing is that now we can’t offer the same transport offer as before in 2019 due to congestion in the stations,” she said.
“We have a major problem in the Eurostar terminals because of the new boarding conditions between the UK and the EU, because of the impact of Covid, because of the staff in the stations.”
Last year Eurostar announced that it would be ending its direct service from London to Disneyland Paris and would also be ending services calling at Ebbsfleet or Ashford International stations.
Financial problems due to losses at the height of the pandemic and post-Brexit border controls – with more time needed to stamp UK passengers’ passports – were cited as the reasons
Asked if services would resume in the future, Ms Cazenave said: “We’ll see, it depends on how we deal with the problems the big broadcasters are having.”
She said the company’s “goal” is to be “that backbone between big cities” like London, Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels.
“These are the main cities, these are the main markets … that we work for, which is my main job I would say,” she said.
Currently, UK passengers traveling to the EU require their passport to be stamped upon crossing the border, which has caused delays.
An entry/exit system (EES) will replace the controls, but the technology has been delayed several times and is now due to be implemented in late 2023.
However, concerns have been raised that initially registering for the system could cause delays in Eurostar services and queues at the Port of Dover, as the system allows people arriving from non-EU countries – including the UK – to bloc enter, have to register fingerprints and a photo with their passport data.
Once travelers have submitted their fingerprints and data, this registration is valid for three years. During this time, it must be validated every time you cross the border.
Ms Cazenave told BBC Eurostar she was “pushing” for the system to be fully digital, meaning people could register details at home before their trip and it “wouldn’t be a bad customer experience”.
“We know it’s a big deal, we know it’s a really big challenge,” she said.
The Eurostar boss said the system would work without “digitalisation” but added that it would need “a lot of investment, anticipation and staff”.
On Tuesday, Eurostar announced its new brand, which includes a merger between Thalys and Eurostar, and hopes to be able to carry 30 million passengers a year by 2030.
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