Millions of travellers starting their Easter getaways on Friday have been warned to brace themselves for logjams and delays.
The RAC predicts there will be 4.6 million leisure trips by road on Good Friday alone, the busiest day of the weekend.
It forecast “extremely busy roads”, made worse by rail closures and disruption.
Network Rail said 530 engineering works will take place over Easter, adding: “There will be disruption on some routes, so passengers are urged to plan ahead.”
Meanwhile the turmoil continues for air passengers.
More than 9,000 flights are scheduled to depart from the UK over the weekend – but yesterday there were more reports of chaos at airports with long queues at check-in and security.
One person at Manchester Airport said passengers queuing to check in for flights were “now starting outside”.
At Stansted Airport people reported “chaos again” at passport control.
One tweeted: “Seven and a half billion people on the planet and they’re all in the passport queue at Stansted Airport.” Experts predict the travel disruption, caused in part by staff shortages, will stretch into the summer.
Hold-ups at Dover have been worsened by P&O Ferries’ ongoing suspension of cross-Channel services after last month’s sacking of 800 seafarers.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said yesterday: “This weekend will be extremely busy on our roads, potentially at our ports – particularly at Dover. So I do expect there to be disruption, with no thanks to P&O there.”
He added: “I am very concerned the operators – airlines, airports, ports – do ensure they get back to strength and quickly.
“They lost a lot of people during the pandemic. We have been warning them for a long time that they would need to gear up again.”
It came as another P&O vessel was detained, casting doubt on whether the firm will be able to restart the Dover to Calais route before Easter. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said inspection of the Spirit of Britain identified safety issues.
