Eurostar has suspended services between London and Paris for the rest of Friday after the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb near tracks in the French capital.
Thousands of passengers are disrupted as the cross-Channel operator was scheduled to run 32 trains in either direction throughout the day.
A large crowd of people who were booked on affected services has gathered outside the check-in area at London St Pancras station.
Eurostar said in a statement: “Due to the discovery last night of an unexploded bomb from the Second World War during work carried out on the tracks in St Denis (north of Paris), traffic has been completely halted to and from Gare du Nord.
“As a result, all Eurostar trains are cancelled to and from Paris today.”
Lauren Romeo-Smith, part of a group at London St Pancras who were planning to visit Paris for a birthday celebration, told the PA news agency: “We would have thought there would be more Eurostar staff.”
She added: “We’re looking up flights, but our options are limited.”
Charlotte Kidd, who was scheduled to visit Disneyland Paris to celebrate her 30th birthday this weekend, said she was still hopeful of getting there.
She said: “We’ve got two hours. If not, we’ll try and get there some other way.”
Emma Roe, part of a group of eight friends, said they were considering booking flights from Luton airport to Amsterdam but there is nothing available until 6pm.
She added: “We’re all parents, so we don’t want to lose our free weekend.”
