Travel chief says passengers must be looked after following ferry cancellations

THE cancellation of four Brittany Ferries services to and from Cork is unfortunate but the onus has to be to look after the passengers affected, according to chief executive of the Irish Travel Agents Association Pat Dawson.

Today's ferry from Cork to Roscoff in northern France was cancelled due to a technical problem with the vessel, Pont-Aven, while a separate issue with the Connemara vessel between Cork and Santander in northern Spain meant that this voyage was also not running on Friday.

Almost 1,500 passengers were affected by the cancellations.

Speaking to The Echo, Mr Dawson said: “These things happen in all walks of life. There isn’t much you can do about it, but when something like this goes wrong, all you can do is look after those affected.” 

Mr Dawson said all passengers who were supposed to board the ferry to France or Spain with Brittany Ferries are entitled to compensation under the Flight Compensation Regulation 261/2004 which governs flights and ferries in terms of cancellations.

“It is an EU regulation that outlines people’s rights in these situations,” Mr Dawson said.

 “My advice is to ring your travel agent, if you have one to get advice and if not contact the company Brittany Ferries. 

"They are a good company, I am assuming they will look after people.” 

It is understood customers are being offered alternative sailings or a full refund and Brittany Ferries have apologised for the inconvenience and disruption.

It is the third time in recent weeks that sailings on the Pont-Aven have been disrupted by technical issues.