Travel news – live: Christmas getaway latest as traffic and train delays set to impact festive season
With the festive season upon us, travel chaos in the UK has already begun while further delays expected for all types of transport due to weekend weather
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Your support makes all the difference.Christmas travel has already been thrown into disarray for thousands of passengers flying over the festive period, while ferry and rail closures are also causing problems.
Many passengers planning to fly from London Stansted Airport on Thursday, 19 December had their plans hampered after the first 17 departures of the airport express train were cancelled.
In the early hours of the morning, thieves stole signalling and power cables from the Stansted Express rail line in Hertfordshire, causing major disruption and delays to trains later in the day.
Other travellers have encountered issues with ferry services. The service between Holyhead and Dublin, the main ferry link between Britain and Ireland, will remain suspended over Christmas and into the new year after Holyhead’s port suffered damage during Storm Darragh. This has caused soaring air fares to Dublin.
Yellow weather alert warnings are also expected over the weekend, with strong winds hitting much of the UK’s north, likely causing delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport.
How to ensure you Christmas flight goes smoothly
The last thing anyone wants is to miss a flight just before Christmas – so The Independent's travel correspondent Simon Calder has pulled together some advice for stress-free travel during the festive period.
His key points are:
- Sort out your holiday money in advance
- Research the customs rules for your destination
- Check that you can reach the airport
- Allow for long security queues
- Wrap presents after security
- Leave Christmas crackers out
- Avoid too much celebratory booze
Read Simon Calder’s full guide on stress-free festive travel:
Everything to remember if you’re flying this Christmas
Check you can reach the airport, don’t wrap presents you’re taking through security and go easy on the celebration drinks
Will train strikes affect the Christmas period?
This week Avanti West Coast announced fresh strikes that will take place in the final hours of 2024 continuing until the late May bank holiday weekend.
The first will take place towards the end of the festive period on December 31 meaning New Year’s Eve revellers may need to seek alternative forms of transport. Further strikes are then planned for Thursday 2 January and then every Sunday between 12 January and 25 May.
Avanti West Coast centres on the West Coast main line to and from London Euston, and serves a number of main cities including Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow.
On most strike days, the company operates a skeleton service. On the core routes linking London with Birmingham and Manchester, typically one train an hour will run – compared with the normal three-per-hour schedule.
Hourly trains will also run to Liverpool via Crewe (except on 2 January, when the line through Crewe is closed), with less frequent services via Preston and Carlisle to Glasgow.
Read Simon Calder’s full breakdown of the train strikes here:
When are the next train strikes? How industrial action will affect passengers
‘Sustained strike action is now the only way to focus management’s minds on reaching a negotiated settlement’ – Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT union
An extended period of ‘pre-Christmas panic’ expected this year
As Christmas falls on a Wednesday this year, the RAC predicts there will be an extended period of “pre-Christmas panic” on the roads as people travel up and down the motorways and roads ahead of the festive celebrations.
5.7m extra trips are expected to be taken this Wednesday and Thursday alone. The peak times are 1pm-6pm on 18 December and 8am-6pm the following day, the RAC says.
Around 29.3 million Christmas journeys will take place between Wednesday and 24 December, the RAC has estimated, with nearly half taking place on the pre-Christmas weekend alone.
Read more from Albert Toth:
Christmas travel: Worst times for driving during ‘record getaway’ revealed
Driving home for Christmas? Here’s what the experts say
This December to be busiest for air travel since the pandemic
The UK Civil Aviation Authority says that regulator data trends suggest airports will be even busier this month than the almost 11 million passengers who jetted off in December 2023, with the demand for flights expected to get back to pre-pandemic levels.
The Independent predicts these will be the busiest days:
- Heathrow: Friday 20 December (outbound); Friday, Saturday and Sunday 3/4/5 January (inbound).
- Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted: Saturday and Sunday 21/22 December (outbound); Saturday and Sunday 4/5 January (inbound). The intermediate weekend, 28/29 December, will be very busy.
- Luton: Friday 20 December (outbound); Fridays 27 December and 3 January (inbound).
Expect spray on the roads and blustery winds during Friday traffic, Met Office says
Friday, 20 December, especially the evening rush hour, is expected to be one of the busiest times for Christmas travel on the UK’s roads and motorways.
The AA predicts that Friday will see a record 23.7 million car journeys on motorways and trunk roads.
The Met Office said that drivers should prepare for spray on the roads at times with some blustery winds in places too.
What time will Christmas Eve trains finish?
Christmas Eve will mostly be everyone’s final chance to reach their Christmas destination for the holidays, as no passenger trains will run in the UK on Christmas Day and Boxing Day will be similar, except for some rare exceptions.
On 24 December, trains will start to roll into their depots ahead of Christmas from late afternoon onwards.
The last direct trains on key intercity routes are:
- London King’s Cross-Edinburgh: 5.30pm/Edinburgh-London King’s Cross: 4.13pm
- London Euston-Manchester Piccadilly: 5.55pm/Manchester Piccadilly-London Euston: 6.13pm
- London Paddington-Cardiff Central: 7.48pm/Cardiff Central-London Paddington: 8.18pm
- London Victoria-Gatwick Airport: 8.45pm/Gatwick Airport-London Victoria: 7.32pm
- Bristol Temple Meads-Leeds: 4.35pm/Leeds-Bristol Temple Meads: 4.11pm
- Glasgow Queen Street-Aberdeen: 6.41pm/Aberdeen-Glasgow Queen Street: 6.36pm
All Caledonian Sleeper services are cancelled until 27 December.
How busy will the roads be this Christmas?
The RAC predicts there will be an extended period of “pre-Christmas panic” on the roads, with 5.7m extra trips being taken this Wednesday and Thursday alone.
The peak times are 1pm-6pm on 18 December and 8am-6pm the following day.
However, Friday 20 December is set to be the busiest day of the winter on motorways and trunk roads according to rival motoring organisation the AA, which predicts a record 23.7 million car journeys.
The organisation warns Saturday 21 and Monday 23 December will also be extremely busy, with 22.7 million on each day. The RAC, meanwhile, predicts 1-6pm on Saturday and 10am-4pm on Monday will be the busiest times.
The Independent has analysed AA figures to calculate that one in seven motorists plans to drive more than 100 miles on “frantic Friday”, 20 December.
Find out more about Christmas road congestion here:
How to avoid travel chaos on road and rail this Christmas and New Year
Exclusive: Trains, boats and planes will be different over the festive season – with strikes and engineering work adding to the chaos
Rail industry warns passengers to plan ahead over the Christmas period
Passengers have been warned to plan their journeys in advance as stations and services are likely to be busy in the run-up to Christmas and the New Year, with engineering work also affecting trains.
National Rail says there could be some changes to the advertised timetables, so passengers are strongly advised to check journey planners before travel and book tickets in advance wherever possible.
Due to engineering works and projects, some services will be disrupted:
- London Liverpool Street will be closed from Wednesday 25 December with services resuming on Thursday 2 January, causing various services to be redirected or terminated elsewhere.
- London Paddington also will close for three days from 27 to 29 December.
- There will be no East Midlands trains running between St Pancras and Bedford and no Thameslink services between St Pancras and Harpenden between 21 and 29 December.
- No trains will pass through Crewe on 27 December. There will be no direct service to Liverpool and there will be a reduced service to Manchester from 28 December until 3 January.
- There will be no services between both Royston/Audley End and Cambridge/Cambridge North from Wednesday 25 December to Sunday 5 January
- South Western Railway services will be altered or diverted due to engineering between Farnborough and Woking from 23 December until 5 January.
More information can be found on the Network Rail website.
As usual, train services throughout the UK will finish earlier than normal on 24 December, and there will be no National Rail services on Christmas Day. On Boxing Day, most train operators will not be running any trains, but a small number of operators will be running limited services.
Wild weather predicted for most of UK over coming weekend
On Saturday 21 December from 7am to midnight, the Met Office has yellow weather warnings for strong winds in place for much of the northern UK.
The warnings cover all of Scotland (apart from Shetland), northern England west of the Pennines (including Manchester airport), the North Wales coast and the northern half of Northern Ireland.
The Met Office says for western Scotland: “Very strong westerly winds are expected to develop through the course of Saturday in association with a deep area of low pressure, with gusts of 65-75 mph expected.
There is a small chance that gusts in excess of 80 mph could occur across this region.
“Dangerous coastal conditions can be expected too, with large waves an additional hazard, especially in respect to causeways.”
On Sunday, the warning changes to cover the whole of the west of the UK – west of a line through Leeds, Birmingham and Southampton.
From midnight to 9pm on Sunday, prospective travellers are warned: “A prolonged period of strong winds will likely lead to some disruption over the weekend, especially to travel.
“Some delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport are likely.
“It’s likely that some coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities will be affected by spray and/or large waves.
“Probably some bus and train services affected, with some journeys taking longer.”
Latest dimension of Christmas getaway disruption: smog in Sarajevo
Many flights have been grounded in Bosnia‘s capital, Sarajevo, as toxic air engulfed the city.
The public were told to stay indoors as protection against a thick blanket of smog.
Sarajevo and other major cities in the Balkans are traditionally very polluted during winter months as they rely on coal and wood for heating.
Some flights to Sarajevo diverted, eg to Banja Luka, and many others were cancelled, but Wizz Air got in from Luton this morning.
Read the latest here:
Flights grounded as toxic smog blankets European capital
It is currently ranked as the third most-polluted city in the world
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