Stena Line Announces Christmas Ferries Bringing Festive Cheer

ANGLESEY, Wales, Dec. 24, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Stena Line has revealed it has carried an additional 5,000 passengers on its Belfast to Stranraer route in the last few days of December as thousands of people face despair and disappointment with continued flight cancellations in the run-up to the festive season. The company is reminding people that its sailings are continuing to run as scheduled with availability between now and Christmas.

Stena Line Communications Manager, Nigel Tilson said: "We have carried additional 5,000 foot passengers on our Belfast to Stranraer route over the past number days due to the ongoing flight cancellations and last minute bookings.

"All our Ireland ferry and UK sailings are operating as scheduled and we have brought in extra staff to help accommodate the uplift in customers at this time. We have also organised additional coaches to help cope with the extra demand that we are experiencing.

"Sailings are continuing to book up fast, especially the UK ferries, but we still have availability on most sailings, so our message to people needing to make travel arrangements is not to leave it until the last minute," Nigel continued.

"We recommend customers book their ferry crossing through the website or our call centre rather than arrive at the port without a booking as they may face disappointment."

Also running as scheduled are the ScotRail train services from Stranraer to Glasgow and Glasgow to Edinburgh and Virgin trains from Glasgow to Carlisle, Birmingham and London are operating with minor delays.

From December 20 to January 5 Stena Line will carry 105,000 passengers across its five Irish Sea routes,  47,000 of which will be on our Belfast to Stranraer route.  

About Stena Line:

Stena Line is one of the world's largest ferry operators, with ferry services serving Scotland, Sweden, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Norway, England, Wales, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Stena Line is a major unit of Stena AB, itself a part of the Stena Sphere, a grouping of Stena AB, Stena Metall AB and Stena Sessan AB. Stena Line also owns the Swedish vessels of the otherwise German- and Danish-owned Scandlines.

During 2009, approximately 15.4 million passengers travelled with Stena Line. 3.3 million cars and 1.6 million freight units were transported during the same period.

SOURCE Stena Line