Christmas Travel LIVE: Traffic chaos on motorways while getaways hit by cancelled flights

Space for vehicles and passengers on ferries across the Irish Sea is scarcer than in any previous festive season.

The main link between Great Britain and the island of Ireland, from Holyhead to Dublin, is closed due to damage caused by Storm Darragh.

Many families were planning to circumvent the closure by using the ferry from Cairnryan to either Larne or Belfast in Northern Ireland.

But on Sunday 22 December almost all of those links were cancelled due to severe weather conditions.

To try and alleviate the build-up of freight and passenger traffic at ports, Stena Line has added an extra sailing between Thursday and Cairnryan – in both directions – on 24 December.

The ferry firm says it has “very limited space available” on its earlier Christmas Eve sailings.

Stena Line trade director Paul Grant said: “Our colleagues have worked around the clock to assist anyone who still needs to travel, and I am pleased to confirm we have added an extra 11.30pm sailing on Christmas Eve from both Belfast and Cairnryan. “We sincerely appreciate and thank everyone for their support and patience during what has been a very difficult few weeks across all our Irish Sea routes.”

The AA forecasts that there will be around 22.7 million drivers on the road on Monday, with a further 21.6 million on Christmas Eve.

The AA said the combination of milder weather and the number of journeys already means the remainder of the Christmas getaway should be relatively smooth, except for some hold-ups in the “usual hotpots” such as the M25, M1 and M6.

AA president Edmund King said: “Even though millions of people have already made trips over the Christmas period, the roads have coped relatively well with the traffic.

“With Christmas Day falling on a Wednesday, drivers have already had four different days to travel. Most journeys have been relatively short, and the majority have been under 50 miles.

“Strategic roads and motorways near shopping centres have suffered the brunt of the congestion alongside some of the roads affected by adverse weather in Scotland and the North.”

Our travel correspondent Simon Calder reports:

The single longest Christmas closure of a crucial rail line has begun – and continues until the start of services on Monday 6 January.

The South Western Railway main line, linking London Waterloo with Winchester, Southampton and Bournemouth, will be closed between Woking and Basingstoke. The main work-around is to run one train an hour from London to Weymouth via Guildford and Havant, severely reducing capacity and adding 40 minutes to journey times.

Nonstop rail replacement buses will run between Woking and Basingstoke, where passengers can connect with trains to/from Salisbury and Exeter.

Amber warnings for traffic gridlock, threatened strikes and the traditional rail engineering work interrupting major train links: it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

The festive season this winter will be busier than ever, with record numbers of travellers predicted at London Heathrow and many other airports, as well as on Britain’s motorways.

The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder explorers the key pinch points and potential problems – to help you plan to swerve the disruption, or at least to be prepared for crowds and chaos.

The Christmas getaway period is nearing its end, although tens of millions of drivers are still yet to hit the road.

The AA is forecasting there will be around 22.7 million drivers on the road on Monday, with 21.6 million on Christmas Eve.

AA president Edmund King said the UK’s roads have so far “coped relatively well with the traffic”.

He went on: “With Christmas Day falling on a Wednesday, drivers have already had four different days to travel.

“Most journeys have been relatively short, and the majority have been under 50 miles.

“Strategic roads and motorways near shopping centres have suffered the brunt of the congestion alongside some of the roads affected by adverse weather in Scotland and the North.”

The Met Office has forecast a “mild Christmas” with weather conditions not expected to contribute to any disruption to roads as people travel home for the festive period.

Spokesman for the weather service Oli Claydon predicted “notably high temperatures” over the next few days, although added that this “doesn’t necessarily bring sunny skies unfortunately”.

Mr Claydon said: “The key notable factor of the weather through this week really is the mild conditions and higher temperatures.

“The risk of ice and any snow that we had over the weekend has diminished, and no notable heavy rain should bring any impacts to the transport network.”

He added that Christmas Eve on Tuesday was expected to be the mildest day with temperatures of 14C and potentially even up to 15C in some places.

Mr Claydon said a mild Christmas Eve could be fairly widespread from Torbay in Devon to the north east of Scotland, adding that temperatures in Scotland and Northern Ireland were “markedly above average” for the time of year.

He said Christmas Day on Wednesday would be a little less mild, with highs of 13C and maybe 14C.

He added that temperatures would tail off slowly towards the end of the week.

The Met Office has released its latest forecast for this afternoon, predicting much less windy conditions for travellers.

In a post on social media, the forecaster says: “A cloudy afternoon for most with periods of rain and drizzle spreading eastwards.

“Turning mild in the west but feeling chilly in the east, albeit much less windy than over the weekend.”

Lawyers have warned divorced or separated parents who are planning to go on holiday with their children over the Christmas period that extra documents may be vital when travelling.

Taking a flight in the very busy, festive period can be a stressful thing to navigate, but family law and divorce lawyers at Rayden Solicitors are cautioning parents separated from their partners that there could be complications at the border.

Taking a child out of England and Wales without documents stating the other parent’s consent could result in being turned away from your flight. The lawyers add this will particularly be the case if those travelling now have a different surname from their child’s.

My colleague Amelia Neath reports:

The travel correspondent of The Independent was formerly a security officer at Gatwick airport. With millions still to fly over the festive season, Simon Calder gives some seasonal advice.

Allow for long security queues

For people hoping to breeze through airport security, Christmas and New Year comprise a perfect storm. Fellow passengers:

• May be infrequent travellers and understandably unfamiliar with the rituals and rules on sharp objects and liquids
• Are carrying fragile and/or non-compliant gifts, eg bottles or snow globes as gifts, slowing things down further
• Tend to have coats, hats and scarves because it’s cold outside, adding to the quantity to be scanned

Wrap presents after security

Checkpoint staff may need to take a look at unfamiliar items. It will not be a great start to your festive journey if you have to stand and watch someone tear apart all your careful wrapping to examine the gift.

Leave Christmas crackers out

Some airports and airlines let them fly as cabin baggage, and some do not.

Liquid warnings

While the hope was that all UK airports would have new scanners that allow liquids to be taken through security in larger quantities by the end of 2024, in fact the rules everywhere have reverted to the 100ml limit for containers of liquids, aerosols and gels. They must be inside a clear, resealable 1 litre container.

If you plan to buy a bottle as a gift, wait until duty free; if you have connecting flights, buy at the last airport before your destination.

One celebratory drink is enough

Sorry to nag, but please don’t drink too much before or during your flight. Signs at Gatwick and other airports warn: “It is an offence for you to get on and be on an aircraft when drunk.”

Jet2 says it “will not permit any person to enter or be in an aircraft when suspected of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs to the extent that the safety of the aircraft or its occupants are likely to be endangered”.

Other airlines have similar policies.