Heavy traffic is expected on major roads this afternoon as the Easter break begins.
Some airports and airlines expect numbers over the bank holiday weekend and school holidays to return to pre-Covid levels.
The aviation regulator said the industry had learned lessons from the challenges of recent years.
Rail passengers have been advised to plan ahead due to engineering works.
Roads
Research by the RAC and traffic analyst INRIX suggests congestion could be bad on Thursday afternoon as run-off traffic combines with regular commuters.
In particular, they expect journeys on the M25, between the M23 to Gatwick and the M1 in Hertfordshire, to take more than two hours – twice the usual time.
Good Friday will be the busiest day. INRIX’s Bob Pishue said: “Although travel times peak on Thursday and Friday afternoon, drivers should be prepared for longer than normal journeys throughout the weekend.”
With Easter falling earlier than usual at the start of the school holidays, the RAC has warned of “carmageddon”.
Breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson advised delaying Thursday trips until late evening, and leaving as early as possible on Good Friday.
The National Highways is removing 850 kilometers of road works on major routes to help ease traffic.
The AA said motorists should take extra care in wet weather. It is recommended to carry out vehicle checks such as engine oil, tire pressure, fuel and charge levels before departure. It is also recommended to bring essentials such as snacks and warm clothes.
People heading to the Port of Dover Channel Tunnel will find the Operation Brock traffic management system in place on the M20. Drivers are advised to plan ahead and allow extra time.
Overseas holidays
Travel association ABTA reckons two million Brits will head abroad over the long Easter weekend. He says the most popular destinations include the Canary Islands, mainland Spain and Turkey.
Julia Lo Bue-Said heads the Advantage Travel Partnership, a network of travel agents. She says that holiday bookings for this Easter are increasing by 9% over 2023. This is despite the pressure of the cost of living, and holidays are increasing in price.
“We don’t see any decrease in demand. In fact, the season is exceptionally strong. [People are] priority that the verses to spend discretion, possibly go out to eat, theaters and things like that”.
She thinks vacationers are doing what they can to control costs. “40% of everything sold is all-inclusive, and that’s up significantly from what we typically see.”
There are more late bookings compared to previous years.
Airports and airlines are expecting big numbers, in some cases above 2019 levels.
For example, Manchester Airport expects to handle around 320,000 passengers this weekend, 8% more than the equivalent last year.
Glasgow Airport said it would have extra staff in place for “three exceptional weekends in advance”.
Low cost airline Easyjet is predicting its busiest ever Easter weekend.
The industry hopes to capitalize on strong demand this year, after the post-pandemic recovery was marred first by staff shortages and then other problems such as air traffic control problems and fires in Europe .
Flight delays in 2023 were worse than before the pandemic. Only 64% departed within 15 minutes of the scheduled departure time, compared to 75% in 2019.
Tim Johnson, director of strategy at the aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), said he believed the industry had learned lessons from recent challenges, and made a lot of preparations.
He told the BBC: “We believe the industry is ready for those significant volumes coming this year. We’re confident they can cope based on what they’ve told us, but it’s going to take every part of the system… to be fully. committed to providing the best possible service.”
Commercial Airlines UK said that the whole sector had been “investing in resilience and adjusting operations” to ensure that it could “mitigate the impact of external factors for the millions of customers that we expect to carry … throughout the busy summer season.”
The CAA advised people to make sure that package holidays are ATOL protected, and that they have insurance.
The Airport Operators Association advised people to plan ahead and be patient with staff.
This time of year is usually busy even in seaports.
Dover, the UK’s busiest international ferry port, has declared a critical incident at the start of the Easter 2023 run.
Extremely long line built up, with some bus passengers reporting wait for more than 14 hours.
The head of the Port later told the BBC steps have been taken to prevent this level of delay in the future.
At rush hour over the next few days, Dover told bus operators that even with the right resources in place at the border, waiting times could be up to 2.5 hours.
Eurotunnel told the BBC it was putting in extra shuttles and staff to cope with the expected high numbers.
The trains
There will be disruption on some rail routes over the long weekend, so it’s important to check your journey in advance.
For example, London Euston, one of the UK’s busiest railway stations, will be closed between Good Friday and Easter Monday – except for London Overground trains.
That’s because Network Rail’s engineering works between London and Milton Keynes will close part of the West Coast main line.
There will be replacement nozzles in this stretch. Avanti West Coast will operate a revised service on its network.
There is more information about other changes to train services in the country on the The National Rail website.
