Holidaymakers have begun taking to Britain’s roads, airports and ferry ports as the great summer getaway reaches its peak this weekend.
About 2 million people are expected to fly overseas from the UK between Friday and Monday, with about 13 million forecast to hit the roads in the coming days for trips abroad or a holiday at home.
Jammed roads are forecast, with a second rail strike on Saturday severely disrupting trains around the country, including cutting most of the main intercity services to one an hour.
Airline bosses have said the prospect of flying into a heatwave has not affected bookings despite holidaymakers voicing concerns, with hundreds of thousands heading to the baking beaches and cities of southern Europe, with damper, cooler weather lingering over Britain.
Saturday is expected to be the busiest day at airports, according to travel association Abta, with most schools in England and Wales breaking up on Friday.
The association said Spain and its islands remain the number one destination for families, but there is strong demand this year for countries where, though even hotter, sterling goes further, including Bulgaria and Morocco as well as Turkey, where problems with soaring inflation outstrip Britain’s cost – of living crisis.
Mark Tanzer, Abta chief executive, said many families would be “taking their first overseas summer holiday since the pandemic, returning to much-loved destinations and will have a fantastic experience in store.”
He added: “We’re encouraging people to have a fun and safe holiday, by taking sensible precautions if you’re heading to an area with exceptionally high temperatures, and taking particular care when in the water and on balconies.”
All the threatened summer strikes at Heathrow, and most of those affecting Gatwick, the two busiest airports, have been called off, although airlines have warned that ongoing air traffic control strikes on the continent could yet cause delays. EasyJet, which will operate the most outbound flights in the next few days, said that the European heatwave is proving no deterrent to summer bookings.
About 200,000 passengers are expected to fly this weekend from Manchester and Stansted airports, while about 100,000 will depart from Glasgow, although school holidays in Scotland are well underway.
The Port of Dover is expecting its busiest times of the summer for outbound holiday passengers on Saturday and Sunday, with 3,000 cars due to arrive before 10am each day.
The port has warned those in cars to expect waits of up to two-and-a-half hours to clear the French border post at the port, due to post-Brexit rules that include stamping every passport. On Friday, more than 20,000 passengers had taken ferries by late afternoon with checks taking 30-45 minutes, the port said.
Ferries firm DFDS is putting on additional sailings, and ferry operator representatives have said passengers should all get away and can join subsequent sailings if they miss their departure due to traffic.
Motorists holidaying at home are also likely to have to negotiate intense traffic, particularly on the routes to the south-west, with the RAC predicting 12.6m additional leisure journeys over the four days to Monday and “bumper-to-bumper” jams at peak times on the M5 towards Cornwall and Devon.
Most leisure trips are expected on Saturday, but the worst congestion was likely on Friday night, according to analysts Inrix, with the post-school getaway clashing with the usual commuter traffic.
The M25 was another forecast hotspot, and congestion was worsened on Friday morning by the partial closure of the Dartford Crossing after a crash, causing 3 miles of tailbacks.
More are likely to be forced on to the roads by industrial action on the railways, with a second 24-hour RMT strike in three days on Saturday, allied with the end of a week-long overtime ban by train drivers. Train operators have warned of severe disruption, with engineering work on the west coast main line also playing a part in limiting trains between Britain’s biggest cities.
The effects of the strike, with 20,000 rail workers taking action at the 14 main train operators in England contracted by the Department for Transport, will vary by region but most services will start later and finish earlier, with fewer daytime departures and many smaller stations closed.
Disrupted rail journeys may still prove preferable for many, with a survey for the motorway services operator, Welcome Break, claiming that it takes just 28 minutes for the average child in a car to first ask: “Are we there yet?” The answer, this weekend more than usual, is likely to be an emphatic: “No”.
