Trains and planes reap travel surge

More leisure: A passenger arriving at the Eurostar terminal at Gare du Nord train station in Paris. The company, which is operating at 50% of pre-virus capacity, said passenger numbers were double what they were last summer. — Reuters

LONDON: Travel firms got a much-needed boost starting last weekend as thousands of vaccinated Britons head to continental Europe for the mid-term school break, kicking off what could be a bumper year for travel as coronavirus concerns ease.

Eurostar International Ltd expects the biggest leap in customer numbers since October over the 10 days through Feb 20, with more than 125,000 people booked to board its Channel Tunnel express trains, surpassing the total for the whole of January. Many of the nine daily services from London to Paris are sold out.