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
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Your support makes all the difference.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.
What are the busiest routes this weekend?
The RAC has warned that 14 million drivers could be facing long delays as they set off on their Easter getaways this bank holiday weekend.
The busiest routes are expected to be:
The M25 between the M23 for Gatwick and the M1 in Hertfordshire
M5 southbound between Bristol and Taunton
M3 between the M25 and the south coast
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.
Bristol, which predicts 30,000 holiday trips on Easter Sunday alone, warned people flying with chocolate: “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.”
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.
Devon County Council issued a warning to motorists, adding: “Our gangs have been working all night to keep the roads passable but drive with extreme care, avoid high roads and stick to main roads where possible.”
Read the full story here:
Easter warning to drivers over bank holiday after snow falls in Devon and Wales
Snow settled in areas of Devon and Wales overnight
London Euston station ‘extremely busy’ as travellers seek to beat line closure
London Euston, one of the UK’s busiest stations, is extremely busy as travellers seek to reach their destinations ahead of the line closure.
The terminus will be closed to all regional and long-distance trains throughout the Easter weekend.
From Good Friday to Easter Monday, Network Rail is closing the West Coast main line between London Euston and Milton Keynes Central.
New track will be laid near Kensal Green tunnel and a busy junction just south of Milton Keynes will be replaced.
The best diversion line for the West Midlands is the Chiltern route from London Marylebone to Birmingham, while London St Pancras is expected to be extremely busy with passengers heading for Sheffield and onwards to Manchester and elsewhere in northwest England.
Caledonian Sleeper trains will run to and from London King’s Cross – where the East Coast main line is expected to be running normally.
Plane forced to abort landing amid extreme winds
A plane was forced to abort a landing at Gatwick Aiport today as Easter getaway hopes are dashed for Britons across the UK.
Dramatic footage showed an easyJet flight from Daro attempt to land in heavy rain and strong winds at around 12:30pm.
The Airbus A320 wobbles from side to side before pulling up again to avoid disaster. It landed ten minutes later successfully.
It comes as Spanish meteorologists named Storm Nelson as it makes its way over to the UK. It is expected to bring gusts of up to 50mph in most places with warnings that winds could reach up to 60 to 70mph in exposed coastal areas.
Ferries cancelled as Storm Nelson brings extreme winds
Ferries have been cancelled and delayed today due to strong winds as Briton’s Easter getaway plans are left in tatters.
DFDS was forced to cancel some ferries from Dover to Calais and Dieppe to Newhaven on Thursday as sea conditions grew dangerous.
There is a yellow weather warning for wind currently in place in the south of England which predicts the possibility of road, rail, air and ferry disruption.
The Port of Dover also warned passengers that the English channel was “rough with a strong south-easterly breeze, force six”.
The Met Office has warned of wind gusts of up to 70mph in coastal areas today as Spanish-named Storm Nelson begins to wreak havoc on the country.
Attractions forced to shut amid extreme weather
People looking for a fun day out in some areas of the UK had their plans ruined today as the extreme weather forced some attractions to close.
Kew Gardens in London closed early at 3pm due to the wet and window conditions along with areas of Bushy Park and Kensington Gardens.
Dartmoor Zoo in Devon - which saw snow fall over night - also shut due to the wind alongside some National Trust sites including Needles Old Battery and Mottisfont Gardens in Hampshire
Nearly three inches of snow was recorded this morning at Sennybridge in Powys, Wales, while two inches fell overnight just north of Dartmoor.
Not very Great Western Railway
Rail passengers hoping to travel between London Paddington, the West of England and South Wales face an Easter full of problems.
The main line from Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads is blocked because of flooding.
Passengers are being told by GWR: “Network Rail advise that due to flooding at Christian Malford, only one line is currently available between Swindon and Chippenham, meaning trains will have to ‘take it in turns’ to use the one available track.
“This will cause delays on the route between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads via Swindon, Chippenham and Bath Spa.”
On Sunday, the main line west of the capital will be disrupted in the morning due to emergency engineering works to sets of points.
Passengers are warned: “Emergency engineering works will affect services between London Paddington and Reading this Sunday. Customers are advised not to travel until midday.
“Repairs need to be undertaken to sets of points over Saturday night and Sunday morning to prevent further disruption affecting more passengers after the weekend.
“Trains will continue to operate between Reading and Bristol, South Wales, and Devon and Cornwall. However, there may be short-notice changes and cancellations, and customers are advised to check journeys beforehand.
“We’re very sorry for any inconvenience caused. Ticket acceptance will be in place with South Western Railway between Waterloo and Reading, and Chiltern Railways between Marylebone and Oxford.”
Airport packed for Easter getaway hopefuls as planes struggle to land
Airports are packed with eager holidaymakers today as planes face difficulty landing amid extreme winds and heavy rain.
Drivers, rail passengers and now jet-setters are facing travel chaos as many attempt to get their Easter weekend started.
Two million holidaymakers are set to take flight over the 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 per cent on April 2023.’
It comes as dramatic footage showed an easyJet flight from Faro abort a landing at Gatwick Airport in heavy rain and strong winds at around 12:30pm.
The Airbus A320 wobbles from side to side before pulling up again to avoid disaster. It landed ten minutes later successfully.
UK Border Force staff to strike at Heathrow airport
More than 600 Border Force officers deployed at Heathrow airport will walk out for four days from 11 April – potentially causing chaos as families return from Easter holidays.
The strike by members of the PCS union has been timed to hit the busiest days for arrival at the UK’s biggest airport.
In a ballot that closed last week, PCS members who carry out immigration controls and passport checks at Heathrow airport voted by nine to one to walk out over a new roster and imposed changes to shift patterns.
The union says the changes could see as many as 250 staff losing their jobs.
The PCS general secretary, Fran Heathcote, said: “Ministers have 14 days to withdraw these unfair and unnecessary proposals or our members at Heathrow will take strike action.
“Consultation with staff has been a farce, with our members having little or no choice about the new arrangements.
“Ripping up flexible working arrangements is no way to treat staff especially, as the government says, their work is critical to our nation’s security.
“Some members are heart-broken that the Border Force has become ‘unprofessional and inhumane’.
“If the government is serious about border security, it should look at Border Force officers’ job security, look after its staff, scrap the changes and work with us to protect jobs and working conditions.”
The Independent has asked the Home Office for a response
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