Saturday, November 9, 2024

Worst time for travel over Bank Holiday as 19 million hit the road

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Holidaymakers have been warned of travel disruption over the bank holiday weekend as millions take to the roads and airports.

This will be the busiest August bank holiday weekend on the roads since at least 2015, according to research by the RAC, with around 19.2 million drivers making leisure trips between Friday and Monday.

Meanwhile, Friday is set to be the busiest day for UK flights so far in 2024 as families enjoy the final chance for a summer getaway before the school term starts, aviation analysis firm Cirium has revealed.

Over the bank holiday weekend, 12,302 flights are scheduled to depart UK airports, equating to more than 2.2 million seats, according to Cirium data. Departure numbers are almost 4 per cent higher than the 2023 August bank holiday, with 3,243 departures on Friday alone.

Heathrow Airport will see the largest number of departures, followed by Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted and Edinburgh, Cirium added.

Airports will be hoping to avoid a repeat of long queues last year when a technical issue in the National Air Traffic Services (Nats) flight planning system grounded planes, affecting 700,000 passengers.

On the roads, transport analytics company Inrix said that the heaviest road traffic was likely on Friday between 10am and 6pm and Saturday between 10am and 1pm.

Travel trade firm Abta estimated that more than two million people would travel abroad this weekend, with Friday projected to be the peak day for departures.

Railway companies have also warned of disruption caused by Storm Lillian, set to cause havoc in northern parts of Wales and England.

Gusts of up to 80mph are expected, with travel disruption, flooding, power cuts and dangerous conditions near coastal areas all likely.

Forecasters have advised revellers at Leeds Festival to secure their tents to protect themselves from strong winds of 50 to 60mph.

Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst said: “The strongest winds are likely to start forming through the early hours initially across parts of north Wales into the Liverpool, Blackpool area, and then crossing over the Pennines and into the east and north-east England – Yorkshire, up to Northumberland before then clearing out into the North Sea.”

He added: “There could also be disruption first thing to the transport networks for those travelling first thing.”

Lillian’s influence would “wane” by Friday afternoon as it reduced in intensity and pushed off into the North Sea, with scattered showers for most of the rest of the day, Mr Dixon said.

RAC Breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson said the adverse weather and large volume of expected trips represented “a perfect storm” for drivers.

The car insurance firm said that 3.2 million leisure trips are estimated to be made on Friday alone.

Ms Simpson said: “Anyone driving in areas impacted by Storm Lilian should try to avoid exposed coasts and higher routes where there’s a greater chance of fallen branches and trees.

“It’s vital to lower your speeds and leave plenty of extra stopping distance to allow yourself time to react quickly.

“Drivers should keep a firm grip on the steering wheel and take extra care when passing high-sided vehicles which can cause an unnerving buffeting effect when you’re suddenly hit by the wind on the other side.”

Network Rail is “closely monitoring” how the storm might impact the rail network, a spokesperson said.

“We have teams on hand to put in appropriate measures, if necessary, to ensure that we can continue to run trains safely and as reliably as possible,” they added.

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