P&O Ferries UK announced it will terminate the route between Hull England and Zeebrugge-Bruges Belgium due to a sharp drop in demand caused by the COVID crisis.
The number of crossings between Dover England and Calais France will also be reduced and a total of 140 jobs are at risk across the company.
The route connecting Hull with Zeebrugge has been described as loss-making and will be terminated in the next few months. The route's scrapping also means that the ships Pride of York and Pride of Bruges will be taken out of service.
P&O's Dover-Calais crossing will continue to operate but is due to be reduced from 6 ferries to 4, with the freight ferry European Seaway and Pride of Burgundy being stopped.
According to P&O Ferries, a fall in tourist demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing Brexit uncertainty were to blame. Pride of York has not been running since the pandemic's start (March) while Pride of Bruges had returned to service for a short time.
Earlier in 2020, the operator was criticized for announcing 1,100 job cuts after taking advantage of the furlough scheme of the government.