Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Tim Hanlon

Millions of Brits to hit roads today as Easter travel carnage gets under way

Brits are set to hit the roads in their millions on Good Friday leading to travel chaos as they head out to take advantage of the hot weather.

Today is expected to be the busiest day of the Easter holidays with an estimated 4.62 million journeys likely to be made across the UK.

But there are also estimated to be a further 22.48 million journeys being made over the bank holiday weekend in what could be the busiest in years, says the RAC.

Delays have hit trips by land, sea and air in recent days and they are only going to get worse over the weekend.

More problems are predicted following travel chaos on Thursday - as well as passengers at airports and train stations left waiting for hours in long queues.

Good Friday is expected to be the busiest day of the Easter holidays (Ian Cooper/North Wales Live)
People are expected to head out on Good Friday to enjoy the hot weather (Peter Harbour - North Yorkshire Live)

Many reported hour-long waits at Manchester and Birmingham airports, while dozens of British Airways and easyJet flights have been cancelled at Heathrow.

Meanwhile, those at London St Pancras said they were standing in long queues for services to Europe on Thursday morning.

Rail passengers have also been warned of further delays as Network Rail carries out 530 engineering projects costing a total of £83 million over the weekend.

These include the closure of the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Milton Keynes for four days from Good Friday due to upgrades of the existing line and HS2 work.

Parts of the railway between Birmingham International station and Coventry will also be closed, as will lines around Crewe station.

Dover-Calais sailings by P&O Ferries were also still suspended as of Thursday night, which caused large queues of lorries forming on roads approaching the Port of Dover throughout the day.

On top of all the travel disruption, supplies of petrol and diesel at filling stations in some areas of the country have been at around half their usual level as the UK's travel network comes under pressure.

Motorists have been advised to travel on Thursday or early on Saturday if they can, to give themselves the best chance of avoiding long queues on the roads.

Edmund King, AA president, said: “All our polling suggests that Good Friday will be the busiest getaway day for Easter trips and staycations. If some drivers can leave on Thursday or early Saturday, they may miss some of the jams.”

The motoring organisation also estimated that, with higher fuel prices, a 500-mile round trip will see drivers paying £20 more at the pumps than they did last Easter.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.