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
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.
In pictures: Cars pass Stonehenge in Wiltshire on A303 as Easter getaway continues
Almost 200 flood warnings and alerts in place across UK
Almost 200 flood warnings and alerts are in place across the UK.
As of Friday morning, 163 flood alerts had been issued by the Environment Agency (EA), meaning flooding in those areas is possible, while 30 flood warnings were in place in areas where flooding is expected.
In pictures: Passengers descend on King’s Cross Station on Good Friday
Respect the liquids rule, says Manchester airport boss
Chris Woodroofe, managing director of Manchester airport, has been giving advice to travellers heading abroad this weekend.
Speaking to The Independent’s daily travel podcast, the airport boss said: “There's been a lot of talk in the news about the new liquids and laptops rules. The reality is that pretty much every UK airport is in the process of changing. So if you're coming to an airport, do make sure you still get your liquids and your laptops ready to come out of your bag.
“If you come to [Manchester airport] Terminal 2 today, there's a reasonable chance you'll go through one of those new lanes, and that's great. It just means you don't have to take the things out of your bag.
“We're in the middle of a £1.3 billion transformation programme. In the next 12 months we are going to spend half a billion pounds on improving Terminal 2, investing in those new security scanning machines and really pushing on to make Manchester airport the place the people in the North can be proud of.”
Listen to the full episode here:
March 29th - Manchester Airport reaches for the skies | Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast
In pictures: Wind and rain batters UK as Londoners seen setting off for long weekend
Dover delays for post-Brexit passport checks
Once again queues have built up for French passport control at the Port of Dover, where frontier formalities are carried out before boarding ferries to France. Since Brexit, officials are required to scrutinise and stamp UK passports.
The port is warning of two-hour delays.
P&O Ferries has tweeted: "Ahoy travellers. We are aware of the queues in Dover. Please rest assured that if you miss your sailing, we will put you on the next available ship once you reach check in."
Watch: Queues at Dover as Easter getaway underway
In pictures: Travellers at Liverpool Street station as getaway continues for Easter 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?
Simon Calder travel advice: When to renew your passport before visiting Europe
Since Brexit, the rules on passport validity for British visitors to the European Union have tightened.
Gone are the days when you could travel to the EU at any point before your travel document expired; the UK is now a “third country”, with rules to match.
Added confusion has come in the form of the UK’s own HM Passport Office, which has continued to give out incorrect information regarding child passport expiry dates.
These are the key questions and answers based on EU rules:
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments