Covid surge among crew forces Wightlink to cancel Lymington-to-Yarmouth ferry crossings at short notice

A SPIKE in Covid cases among crew members forced Wightlink to make short-notice cancellations to its Lymington-to-Yarmouth ferry crossings.

With its Portsmouth-to-Ryde FastCat service also affected, the travel company apologised as it announced it would continue operating its winter timetable until the Easter holidays in April.

This comes amid another nationwide surge in coronavirus cases due to the continued spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant and a sub-variant believed to be even more transmissible.

Despite the legal requirement to self-isolate having been lifted as part of the government’s plan to “live with Covid”, Wightlink does not allow crew to return to work until they test negative.

Chief executive Keith Greenfield said: "We pride ourselves on being the most reliable cross-Solent operator so we are all very disappointed that rising numbers of Covid cases have now caused us to make these cancellations which will inconvenience our customers.

"The team is working round the clock to fill gaps in our rosters and to minimise the impact of absences.

“We apologise to customers for these unwelcome cancellations.”