The cost of travel from France to England today has been ramped up, as tourists rush to avoid a two-week quarantine rule.

The government announced all travellers crossing The Channel must isolate for 14 days if returning from tomorrow, sparking a dash to leave the country.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps estimated on BBC Breakfast that about 160,000 holidaymakers are currently in France, meaning demand is high for tickets out.

This has caused huge price hikes for travel today, with prices seemingly at normal levels tomorrow.

Only one direct flight from Paris to London still has tickets left, with the cheapest of the two remaining seats costing £452.

Tomorrow, the same flight is £173.

An alternative connecting flight to get from Orly to London today costs £185, however it is a 13-hour journey.

On land, a car journey on the Eurotunnel will set you back £260 today compared to £200 on Saturday.

Also waiting times to amend tickets on the company's website can be lengthy, and a queue of more than 800 people are searching for tickets from Calais to Folkestone today.

Regarding the news of a quarantine, Eurotunnel told KentOnline: "In light of the change to quarantine requirements for UK travellers returning from France, Eurotunnel Le Shuttle would like to advise customers currently in France, and hoping to return early, that they must amend their tickets online at www.eurotunnel.com, before travelling to the French terminal.

"The service is already very busy this weekend and there is no additional capacity. To avoid long queues and severe disruption we strongly advise against turning up at the terminal outside the allocated time. Customers will be unable to board alternative shuttles without a valid booking.

"We will continue to run our services as scheduled, as we did throughout the height of the pandemic; not only for freight but to transport those whose travel is essential and those customers who might be travelling to other European destinations.

"Travellers choose Eurotunnel Le Shuttle for travel because of its contactless travel experience, keeping families safe on their journey."

Another rail route across the Channel is the Eurostar, however the intercontinental train has not stopped at either Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International for months.

A direct train from Paris to London will cost at least £210 today, whereas tomorrow the lowest fare is £165.

A spokesman for Eurostar said: "Our customer service lines will be busier than usual at the moment, so we would advise customers to use the website to either change their bookings or request eVouchers for trips they prefer to re-arrange.

"We have capacity on trains from Paris to London throughout the day for those that wish to avoid the quarantine measures.

"We will continue to monitor demand and adapt our timetable accordingly to ensure that those that need to travel can continue to do so at a safe distance apart."

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