Millions of people are set to head off on Easter holiday trips this weekend, as transport companies warned them to expect delays. The country’s roads are likely to hit their peak on Saturday, with around 15 million drivers expected. Fresh delays were also reported at the Port of Dover on Thursday due to “high volumes of traffic”. The weather is expected to remain dry until Monday and is not likely to cause travel problems.
Dover – which saw delays of more than 14 hours last weekend – witnessed queues of “approximately 90 minutes” in the morning as the long weekend got underway, ferry operator DFDS wrote on Twitter.
It said the delays were due to “high volumes of traffic”, but by the afternoon traffic was “free flowing through border controls and check-in”.
The Port of Dover said extra measures were being put in place to cope with the increased demand, warning there could be “a few hours of waiting” during the busiest travel hours on Friday.
It urged travellers not to turn up early and without bookings, and to check on the latest updates with their ferry operators. Last week, slow border processing since Brexit and more coaches than expected were blamed for long queues at the port.
Travel to Europe could also be impacted by the ongoing strikes over pension reforms in France, with many flights to, from and over France being grounded due to air traffic controllers joining the walkout. Many airlines have cancelled flights as a result of the industrial action.
Eurostar cancelled two trains on Thursday due to loss of crew, but said it was not expecting any more disruption. It said trains are set to run as normal on Friday.
Protesters also caused disruption at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport, blocking a main road to one of its main terminals, forcing passengers to walk. The UK is expected to see settled weather for most of the Easter weekend
The weather is not expected to adversely impact travel plans over the weekend, with it expected to remain largely dry until Monday, when some showers are expected.
Gemma Plumb, BBC Weather Forecaster, said Friday will be “dry and fine for most of the UK with sunshine”, although there will be cloud in some eastern parts of the country. Most of the sunshine over the weekend is expected in western parts, before rain hits some parts of the country on Monday.
The AA said it expects Saturday to be the busiest day on the country’s roads, with around 15 million drivers planning to use their cars. The RAC said it expects Friday and Sunday to be the busiest days, but that there is “always the chance of a boost in traffic if the weather forecast turns out better than expected”.
Congestion is expected on the M25, the M4 Wales heading into Newport, the M6/M5 interchange in Birmingham as well as the M4/M5 in Bristol.
Tony Rich, AA’s Public Relations Manager, urged drivers to conduct checks on their cars before they travel, saying many of the callouts the company has received are “easily preventable”.
“We’ve put more patrols on duty, but drivers can help themselves and everyone else by doing the simple checks as breakdowns cause traffic jams,” he said.
The disruption could also extend to the country’s railways, with some engineering work planned over the weekend, including at London Euston station – one of London’s main rail hubs – which will be closed from Friday until Monday due to planned upgrades.
Source: BBC
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