Photos: Freight chaos as Europe closes borders to UK over new strain of coronavirus

Freight vehicles line up prior to boarding a train to France via the Channel Tunnel, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Folkestone. Britain's biggest port stopped all traffic heading to Europe, triggering delays to food supplies after the discovery of a new variant of the virus prompted a wave of countries to ban travel from the U.K.

Security officers perform a control at a closed entrance of the Port of Dover as EU countries impose a travel ban from the UK following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Dover. British supermarket group Sainsbury's warned that gaps will start to appear on shelves within days if transport ties are not quickly restored with mainland Europe. The movement of freight from France has been halted as part of a wider suspension of travel links with Britain to try to curb a new faster spreading strain of COVID-19.

A sign on the M56 motorway informs drivers that all routes into France are closed at the junction with the M6 at Lower Stretton near Warrington, northwest England. The British prime minister was to chair a crisis meeting on December 21 as a growing number of countries blocked flights from Britain over a new highly infectious coronavirus strain the UK said was "out of control". Crucial transit country France moved to block people and goods crossing the Channel, while the Netherlands said passengers arriving by ferry would be denied entry.

General view of nearly empty Port of Dover as EU countries impose a travel ban from the UK. And with Britain yet to agree on its future trade relationship with the European Union before the Dec. 31 deadline, industry groups sounded the alarm - roads have already been been clogged on both sides of the Channel for days. One freight transport group urged shoppers to avoid panic buying, while the food and drink federation warned of the potential for serious disruption to fresh food supplies over the Christmas holidays.

A DFDS ferry leaves from the Port of Dover in Kent, England which has been closed after the French government's announcement Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. Logistics UK, which has 18,000 corporate members from across the British supply chain, called for rapid Covid-19 testing of truckers departing the country as the quickest way of restoring trade links.

The port of Dover closed its ferry terminal for outbound traffic until further notice and pleaded with freight and passenger customers to stay away. The company operating Eurotunnel trains between the U.K. and France suspended its truck shuttle on Sunday in response to the French measures.

At the same time, the level of concern surrounding the new strain of virus detected in Britain means there's a danger the curbs could be more prolonged. The impact over Christmas should be mitigated by the level of stocking in the run-up to the end-of-year deadline for a trade deal.

Lorries are parked on the M20 near Folkestone, Kent, England as part of Operation Stack after the Port of Dover was closed and access to the Eurotunnel terminal suspended following the French government's announcement. EU authorities may also push to limit the extent of the shutdown because more than 80% of the drivers of the 2.1 million trucks that go through Dover every year are foreign nationals, the vast bulk of them from the EU.

An empty Eurostar platform is pictured at Gare du Nord train station in Paris. France is banning all travel from the U.K. for 48 hours in an attempt to make sure that a new strain of the coronavirus in Britain doesn't reach its shores.

General view of an empty road at the Port of Dover as EU countries impose a travel ban from the UK following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Dover. Germany, Italy and the Netherlands ordered a suspension of flights from Britain, while Ireland said it would impose restrictions on flights and ferries.

Lorries disembark from a ferry of the Port of Dover. Normally about 10,000 lorries a day pass through Dover alone and the haulage industry is expressing alarm over supermarket supplies.

The chaos caused by the Covid restrictions come at the beginning of a crucial week for the Brexit talks. Above, lorries parked on the M20 near Folkestone, Kent, as part of Operation Stack after the Port of Dover was closed and access to the Eurotunnel terminal suspended.

Police officers walk through an almost deserted St Pancras International station in London on December 21, 2020, after all Eurostar services to Europe were cancelled as a string of countries banned travellers arriving from the UK, due to the rapid spread of a more-infectious new coronavirus strain.