A VITAL ferry route linking the UK to France will soon be axed after more than 40 years.
The last crossing is set to take place this autumn, with the company citing rising costs as cause for the closure.
Brittany Ferries is set to permanently axe its Poole to Cherbourg crossing route at the beginning of November.
Passengers have been travelling between Dorset and France for over forty years, but now the popular journey will shut down.
The company cited growing financial pressures as the cause for the decision, including outstanding Covid-19 loan repayments, competition on the Eastern Channel and weaker demand for travel.
Rising costs of the European Union’s Emissions Trading System have further burdened the company’s remaining debt.
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Around 20 jobs are expected to disappear as a result of the closure.
The decision comes as part of a wider restructuring by Brittany Ferries, with the firm taking a “pragmatic approach” to the economic challenges.
Steps also include the sale of the Cotentin, which sails between Cherbourg and Rosslare, alongside the closure of the Portsmouth to Le Havre route from October 2026.
A spokesperson for Brittany Ferries told The Sun: “This wasn’t a decision we took lightly, and we know it will be disappointing news for our customers in Poole and the surrounding area.
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“We’ve worked hard over many years to keep this route running, but a long-term decline in passenger and freight numbers, compounded by rising costs and red tape, including Brexit-related border processes, EU environmental taxes, and unfavourable exchange rates, has made the route commercially unsustainable.
“We’re not withdrawing from Poole. Customers will still be able to travel to France with us via a seasonal service from Poole to St Malo, as well as our conventional routes from Portsmouth and Plymouth to Caen, Cherbourg, St Malo and Roscoff, including a new daily Portsmouth–Cherbourg service.”
A high-speed crossing between Poole, Guernsey and St Malo is also set to be debuted in 2027.
The crossing was first introduced in 1985, with the iconic MS Barfleur starting her voyages between Dorset and France in 1992.
It takes just four hours and 15 minutes – the shortest journey over the Channel – and garnered a huge amount of success, leading to a £6million overhaul of the ferry terminal in the 1990s.
The route has faced a number of challenges in recent years, temporarily shutting down in 2010 owing to a decrease in ticket sales – however it was reopened in 2013.
The Barfleur will soon undertake its final journey, but all may not be lost quite yet for the route.
Captain Brian Murphy, chief executive of Poole Harbour Commissioners told the Bournemouth Echo that Brittany Ferries’ departure could pave the way for another operator to take over the route.