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
Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts
Get Simon Calder’s Travel email
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.
Manchester Piccadilly station almost deserted
One of the UK’s busiest rail hubs, Manchester Piccadilly, is extremely quiet this morning. Two of the key routes from the station are closed for Network Rail engineering work: the West Coast main line to London Euston and the main trans-Pennine route to Huddersfield and Leeds.
From Manchester to London, the journey time is nearly doubled to around four hours. Avanti West Coast trains are running as far south as Milton Keynes Central, from where rail replacement buses are running to Bedford for a connection to East Midlands Railway.
Buses are also replacing trains between Manchester and Huddersfield.
Disruption on other lines began early, with Northern trains from Manchester Piccadilly to the airport delayed.
One week from today, no Avanti West Coast trains will run because of a strike involving train drivers belonging to the Aslef union.
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.
Sonia Twigg reports:
Why Manchester United fans have been left fuming by Brentford kick-off time
Manchester United fans responded in anger over late kick off time
In pictures: Passengers queue for ferries at the Port of Dover in Kent
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.
Benjamin Parker reports:
These are the worst days for Easter traffic after ‘carmageddon’ warning
Drivers can expect lengthy queues as millions take to the roads over the long weekend
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.
Among city breaks, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dublin, Paris and Rome are the most popular. Dubai, Orlando and New York are the key longer-haul destinations.
Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent reports:
Easter travel chaos: How bad will it be and when are the worst time to travel?
Airports at full stretch, motorway jams predicted, rail lines closed – with train strikes to follow
Port of Dover report passengers face delays of well over an hour
Major queues have been seen at the Port of Dover as passengers face delays of well over an hour.
The Port of Dover was reporting on Friday morning that the processing time for cars arriving at the port was 70 minutes.
One of UK’s main motorway arteries, the A1(M), is closed today, warns AA president
The president of the AA is warning that one of the UK’s main motorway arteries, the A1(M), is closed today.
Edmund King has said the road is shut on Friday at J6 northbound between Welwyn and Stevenage for roadworks.
He added that the M20 is slow towards Dover.
In pictures: Passengers at Manchester airport at start of Easter getaway
Met Office reveals weather extremes of Thursday after day brought ‘real mix'
The Met Office has said Thursday brought a “real mix” of weather as it revealed the extremes of the day.
The UK saw snow, hail, thunder, rain, gales and sunshine, as temperatures plunged to below freezing in some areas and as high as 12.5C in others.
AA warns electric vehicle drivers to have sufficient charge – or risk fines and penalty points
The AA is warning drivers of electric vehicles to ensure they have sufficient charge – or risk fines and penalty points.
Jack Cousens, head of road policy at the motoring organisation, said: “There can be some genuine reasons for running out of fuel or electric charge such as a faulty gauge, charging fault or undetected fuel leak.
"On occasions, cars may get stuck in jams for hours due to bad winter weather or miles of disruption leading to Channel ports which could result in running out of fuel or charge running low. Hence, we advise to always have at least one-quarter of a tank of fuel or sufficient charge to account for diversions if some chargers aren’t working.
“Most of the out-of-fuel cases the AA sees are a result of driver misjudgement, and the police have the power to give a warning or a penalty if it is deemed to be careless driving or causes an obstruction. If you are running low, you can use the AA route planner to find the closest and cheapest fuel and the nearest charging point.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies