Brits going on Easter holidays facing major delays: Here's what to expect if you're travelling

Travel chaos is expected across much of the UK this Easter weekend as ‘nightmare’ queues form at the port of Dover and dozens of flights are cancelled over French airspace due to strikes. The four days between Good Friday to Easter Monday are expected to be the busiest since 2019 as a perfect storm of post-Brexit passport checks, railway works and strikes cause numerous delays for travellers.

Eurostar, P&O ferries and several airlines are all expecting disruption with customers being urged to allow extra time for travel and to check their journey plans before leaving the house. The weekend is already looking much like a repeat of last year when Easter weekend was hit by airport staff shortages and cross-Channel hold-ups causing severe delays.

Ferry and flight delays

First thing this morning P&O Ferries were warning of 60 minute queues which could well increase. The Ferry operator tweeted that customers should expect long waits, as per The Mirror:

Please allow additional time on your journey if possible and rest assured should you miss your crossing you will be on the next.

Passengers were obviously not pleased with the delays with one disgruntled passenger replying:

We're in the queue and it's a nightmare. Hope we will be getting a refund for the price difference if we miss our allocated ferry.

Ferry operator DFDS, which sails from Dover to Calais and Dunkirk, also described busy scenes with delays blamed on French border officials carrying out extra checks and stamping UK passports following Brexit.

British Airways has cancelled dozens of flights up until Easter Sunday due to 1,400 members of the Unite union striking at Heathrow’s Terminal 5. Air France, easyJet, Ryanair and Vueling of Spain have also cancelled some flights that use French airspace due to ongoing strikes in France over pension reforms.

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Trains and roads

Eurostar has cancelled two trains between London and Paris on Thursday because of the national strike and warn that there could be further disruption.

Across the UK there is widespread engineering work over the weekend causing disruption with 50 miles of the West Coast main line closed between London Euston and Milton Keynes Central.

Travellers to and from the West Midlands, northwest England, North Wales and southern Scotland will need to find alternative routes. Avanti West Coast intercity trains will be terminating at Milton Keynes Central or Rugby, with some rail replacement buses operating.

There will also be no trains from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport and Brighton over the Easter weekend but it is possible from London Bridge.

Meanwhile, on the roads drivers are warned to expect long delays on popular routes over the coming days with the RAC predicting up to 17 million leisure trips by car will take place between Good Friday and Easter Monday.

The worst traffic is expected to be on the western side of the M25, the M5 south of Bristol, the A303 in Wiltshire, approaches to the Lake District and the M20 and A20 to Dover, as per The Independent.

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Sources used:

- The Mirror 'Brits' Easter travel chaos begins as 'nightmare' queues form at Dover ahead of weekend'

- The Independent 'Another Easter of travel chaos begins as queues build at Dover and France hit by strikes'