Brittany Ferries axes Poole to Cherbourg route THREE WEEKS EARLY after more than 40 years of sailings

Brittany Ferries has closed its Poole to Cherbourg route ahead of schedule, with the final crossing departing on Monday 12 October after the company diverted its MS Barfleur vessel to cover the Rosslare to Cherbourg route instead. The service, which first launched in 1973 and has been operated by Brittany Ferries since 1985, collapsed three weeks earlier than planned after a gearbox failure on backup vessel Commodore Clipper forced the company's hand. CEO Christophe Mathieu cited Brexit and COVID debts, with the company facing a €27 million bill in 2026, and apologised to passengers booked in the latter half of October.

Mathieu admitted post-Brexit freight demands forced the call: 'Rosslare to Cherbourg carries nearly 25 percent of all freight traffic.'

Passenger numbers have collapsed from 547,000 in 2002 to a fraction of that figure as travel habits shifted.

Brittany Ferries says fast craft will still sail from Poole to Guernsey, but direct services to mainland France are gone for good.