Brittany Ferries marks 40 years of UK-Spain ferry services

The line’s ferries have carried around 5.5 million passengers during more than 4,000 calls since 1978
Brittany Ferries marks 40 years of UK-Spain ferry services
Brittany Ferries has made more than 4,000 calls to Spain, carrying around 5.5 million passengers (Image: Brittany Ferries)

By Elizabeth Robinson |


Brittany Ferries will celebrate 40 years of providing continuous passenger and freight ferry services between Plymouth, UK and Santander, Spain this April.

Following the success of the Plymouth-Spain route, which has been popular since it opened in 1978, the ferry operator launched regular services from Portsmouth, UK in 2009, deploying a new generation of cruise ferries that reduced journey times to approximately 24 hours. In 2011, Brittany Ferries added a new passenger service to Bilbao, Spain and in 2016, it opened a freight-only service from Bilbao to Poole, UK.

Over the past 40 years, Brittany Ferries has made more than 4,000 calls to Spain, carrying around 5.5 million passengers and more than 1.5 million cars, motorhomes and bikes. Annual passenger numbers have also increased 79% over the past decade, up from 183,578 in 2008 to 328,680 in 2017.

“From humble beginnings in 1973, Brittany Ferries grew quickly into a service connecting four countries,” said Christophe Mathieu, CEO of Brittany Ferries. “Today, services to Spain in the summer are among our most popular crossings. Passengers know that Spain without the plane means freedom to explore, taking everything you need in your own car, motorhome or bike, and it starts with a fantastic voyage by sea.”

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