Now is the summer of our discontent – at least when it comes to travel

Strikes, cancellations and lengthy queues... we’ll give you all the information you need to navigate the holiday chaos

The summer months are traditionally the most hectic time of the year to get away: children have broken up from school, families are escaping to Europe, companies wind down for silly season.

This is the busiest summer ever (ever!) for UK airports. More than 8,000 flights a day will take off from airports across the country, carrying hundreds of thousands of passengers to destinations all over the world. The busiest day ever (ever!) for UK aviation – which saw 8,863 flights take off – was at the end of May. And after a big proportion of schools broke up for summer this week, the coming weekend is going to be a particularly busy one as families zoom off abroad.

But far from being an easy escape, travellers are contending with strikes, the fallout from extreme weather and, marginally, the grounding of the 737 Max aircraft.

Add to that the threat of buckling rails on the railways and sagging overhead power lines thanks to the heatwave, and we may just have the perfect storm of travel chaos.

Heathrow might have avoided strike action this weekend, but there is still a risk of 4,000 staff walking out next month. Earlier this week, British Airways lost its bid in the High Court against union Balpa to block a pilots’ strike in August, which could mean disruption for thousands of passengers thanks to the grounding of many of BA’s 700 daily flights. Over on the continent, meanwhile, Ryanair cabin crew in Portugal are threatening five days of strikes next month.

It’s enough to make you want to stay at home.

So what are we doing about it?

We’ve got a series of clear explainers, setting out exactly what the flight strikes mean for UK travellers, when are they are, and which services will be affected.

But if you are planning a last-minute summer escape, we’ve got a whole host of inspirational content too – such as the European cities and adventures you should tick off before Brexit. Because while you can still visit stone-cold-sexy Paris and zinging Berlin, or swim in the Rhine river in Basel and run the wine-soaked Marathon du Medoc after 31 October, this summer might be your last chance to waft through airport security without a care in the world.

Yours,

Cathy Adams

Travel editor