Easter travel – live: Bank holiday chaos as drivers face 20-mile queues on M4 and M5 and delays at Dover

Travel disruption faces the millions of Britons hitting the roads and jetting abroad on Good Friday

Queues at Dover as Easter getaway underway

The bank holiday travel chaos continues as drivers face up to 20-mile-long queues on major motorways as well as two-hour delays at the Port of Dover.

Around 2.6 million car journeys were expected to be made on Good Friday as the Easter getaway got underway, with holiday traffic causing “significant” congestion around the M25 and roads in the South West and South East by lunchtime. Queues of 15 to 20 miles were seen on the M4 and M5 interchange near Bristol, which is adding 45 minutes to journey times.

Meanwhile, the Port of Dover warned of two-hour delays on Friday afternoon. Huge queues could be seen building up there after ferry company DFDS reported on Thursday that its services were running with delays “due to strong winds in the Channel”.

And once again there are long waits for French passport control at the Kent port, where frontier formalities are carried out before boarding ferries to France. Since Brexit, officials are required to scrutinise and stamp UK passports.

It comes after plans were dashed as strong winds from the Spanish-named Storm Nelson hit the start of the wet long weekend, forcing the cancellation of trains, with almost 200 flood warnings and alerts remaining in place across the UK on Friday.

Key Points

• Motorists stuck in ‘pretty horrendous’ 20-mile long Good Friday motorway queues
• Port of Dover warns two-hour delays continue blaming ‘adverse weather'
• Severe disruption for rail passengers, particularly between London and southwest England

[28 March 2024 18:45 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

Manchester United fans risk being stranded after kick off time change

Manchester United fans have spoken out in anger against the decision to move their Premier League match against Brentford at the weekend to the late kick off time.

The match is due to kick off at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday 30 March at 8pm GMT.

The kick off time is just two minutes before the last train is scheduled to depart London St Pancras for Manchester Piccadilly. London Euston is not in service this weekend because of engineering works between London and Milton Keynes.

[28 March 2024 19:45 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

UK airport expects record weekend as Easter egg warning issued

Two million holidaymakers are set to jet off over the Easter weekend, with one airport bracing for “record-breaking” passenger numbers.

Turkey, Dubai and the Canary Islands are among the most popular destinations amid wet and windy weather forecast for the UK, although trips to Dublin are also in demand.

Travel trade organisation Abta said airports are reporting “strong numbers”, with 175,000 due to leave from Stansted, 105,000 from Luton, 160,000 from Manchester, 79,000 from Birmingham, and 89,000 from Edinburgh between Friday and Monday.

[28 March 2024 21:40 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

Easter warning to drivers over bank holiday weekend after snow falls in Devon and Wales

Drivers in some parts of the country have been warned to take “extreme care” after snow fell overnight ahead of the Easter bank holiday weekend.

Snow settled in areas of Devon and Wales overnight as the weather over the next few days is set to be chilly and drizzly.

According to the RAC, 14 million people are due to travel on the roads this weekend with some popular routes taking double the amount of time they usually would.

[28 March 2024 23:00 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

Easter travel chaos: How bad will it be?

The great Easter getaway could see travellers caught up in delays by road, ferry, rail and air. In a normal year there would be a gap between most schools breaking up and the long weekend. But with Easter falling so early the two are combined. Term is ending at many schools on Thursday 28 March, putting extra pressure on transportation.

At least three major UK airports – Bristol, Newcastle and Edinburgh – have told The Independent this will be their busiest Easter ever. Some airlines are predicting record numbers for the spell between Good Friday and Easter Monday. Geneva routes will be extremely busy with winter sports fans, while Malaga, Alicante, Faro and Tenerife are the leading spring sunshine holiday destinations.

[29 March 2024 00:30 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

Barred from Europe: 2.4m Brits caught in post-Brexit passport chaos

Millions of Britons are barred from entering the EU by post-Brexit passport rules that are set to cause chaos over the Easter holidays.

With the getaway starting in earnest on Thursday, an estimated 2.4 million travellers have documents that can’t be used for trips to the EU because of the change in expiry requirements.

Since Brexit, British passports must have an issue date less than 10 years old on the day of departure to the EU, and must have at least three months left before their expiry date on the intended day of return. But millions of passports issued prior to September 2018 have longer validity periods.

[29 March 2024 02:00 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

Warning over Easter ‘carmageddon’ traffic chaos – which day will see the worst traffic?

Drivers are being warned of chaos on roads over the Easter weekend, with as many as 18.5 million car trips planned at the start of school holidays.

Those setting out on their journeys are likely to encounter delays from Thursday 28 March, when children break up at the end of term, into Good Friday, with one specialist warning that it could be “carmageddon” for those making their getaways.

The overall travel picture should not be as bad as in 2023, when the Easter weekend coincided with strikes that led to the cancellation and delays of dozens of flights and widespread rail engineering work.

[29 March 2024 03:30 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

UK airport expects record weekend as Easter egg warning issued

Two million holidaymakers are set to jet off over the Easter weekend, with one airport bracing for “record-breaking” passenger numbers.

Turkey, Dubai and the Canary Islands are among the most popular destinations amid wet and windy weather forecast for the UK, although trips to Dublin are also in demand.

Travel trade organisation Abta said airports are reporting “strong numbers”, with 175,000 due to leave from Stansted, 105,000 from Luton, 160,000 from Manchester, 79,000 from Birmingham, and 89,000 from Edinburgh between Friday and Monday.

[29 March 2024 05:00 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

Weather warnings for wind and rain issued ahead of Easter weekend

The Met Office said the forecast for the Easter weekend remained “unsettled” but “bright and breezy”, with temperatures of up to 15C in west London and 14C in Manchester on Sunday, which was typical for this time of year.

RAC Breakdown spokesman Rod Dennis said: “With plenty of classic early spring weather over the Easter bank holiday weekend, drivers getting away will definitely need to be on their guard and ready to cope with rapidly changing road conditions.

“Slowing down in the heaviest of downpours on Good Friday and Easter Saturday is a must as stopping distances will be far greater.”

[29 March 2024 07:00 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

UK airports bracing for two million holidaymakers over Easter weekend

Two million British holidaymakers are set to jet off abroad over the Easter weekend, with one airport bracing for “record-breaking” passenger numbers.

Turkey, Dubai and the Canary Islands are among the most popular destinations amid wet and windy weather forecast for the UK, although trips to Dublin are also in demand.

Travel trade organisation Abta said airports are reporting “strong numbers”, with 175,000 due to leave from Stansted, 105,000 from Luton, 160,000 from Manchester, 79,000 from Birmingham, and 89,000 from Edinburgh between Friday and Monday.

Manchester Airport managing director Chris Woodroofe said: “It’s exciting that record numbers of people will be taking off from here this Easter: 320,000 people will travel (through the airport) over the bank holiday weekend - that’s up 7% on April 2023.”

Glasgow predicts more than 90,000 passengers over the four days, while Birmingham Airport said it expects a 27.2% increase in departures on last year over the full Easter period.

Bristol, which predicts 30,000 holiday trips on Easter Sunday alone, advised: “If travelling with Easter eggs, passengers are advised to keep any chocolate treats in your cabin baggage and to make sure they’re easily accessible as they may need to be opened for a quick check.”

Liverpool Airport expects around 60,000 passengers over the four days, which is around 7% higher than last year.

[29 March 2024 07:17 · Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent]

Stansted airport cut off from London by rail

Passengers heading for the UK’s fourth-busiest airport, London Stansted, face big potential problems this morning. The Stansted Express railway line from the capital to the airport is not running, with “major disruption” expected until 10.30am.

A falling tree brought down overhead wires near the station of Stansted Mountfitchet. Some trains are running to Bishop’s Stortford, where taxis are available. But on one of the busiest days of the year so far for the Essex airport, it seems inevitable that some airline passengers will miss their flights.

National Rail is telling passengers: “Customers are asked NOT TO TRAVEL between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport.

“Tickets for today will be accepted tomorrow.”

Trains to and from Cambridge are also affected, but passengers can use an alternative line from London King's Cross.

Normally four trains per hour would run each way between Stansted and London Liverpool Street, with capacity for more than 2,000 passengers.

Passengers heading for the UK’s fourth-busiest airport, London Stansted, face big potential problems this morning (Stansted Express)