Britain’s airports, railways and motorways will be more stretched this coming weekend than any previous early May bank holiday.
Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester - the busiest airports in the UK - have been breaking records month after month so far this year, a pattern that is set to continue. The crowds at Heathrow will be most intense on Friday, with the normal end-of-week business travel surge augmented by holidaymakers heading away for short breaks.
British Airways is launching new routes from Heathrow this weekend to Menorca, Palermo, Biarritz, Chania and Kalamata.
At Gatwick and Manchester, the key leisure airports, the weekend coincides with the start of the main summer season for charter operators. Gatwick is expected to handle around 120,000 passengers on Friday and Saturday. Manchester could reach 70,000 passengers in a single day.
The latest French air-traffic controllers’ strike, which has caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights, is due to end before the holiday getaway begins.
Train journeys in Britain are also likely to hit new records, particularly since many lines are unaffected by engineering work. Network Rail says that the weekend will be “one of the least disruptive bank holidays for railway travel.” However, engineering projects will increase journey times on a number of routes.
Work on the West Coast main line in the Stafford area will trigger longer journey times on Virgin Trains between London, Crewe, Manchester and Liverpool, and also on CrossCountry services to and from Birmingham. Many trips are likely to take 20-30 minutes longer than usual.
A complex re-signalling programme in South Yorkshire will disrupt journeys to, from and through Sheffield on the first two days in May. Buses will replace trains on routes such as Chesterfield to Sheffield and Doncaster to Manchester airport.
The Crossrail project through London will affect services both east and west of the capital, with work taking place on routes from Liverpool Street and Paddington.
Work near Victoria station means that Gatwick and Brighton services will instead operate from London Bridge.
The RAC is predicting a busier bank holiday than ever due to families postponing trips because Easter fell so early. Drivers heading to the South West are likely to encounter problems on the M5 between Bristol and Taunton, and on the A30 and A38 through Devon.
