UK travel news – live updates: Christmas rush to spark busy weekend for roads and airports
UK roads and airports set for busiest day on 21 December
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Your support makes all the difference.The 'Great Christmas Getaway' gets underway this weekend, as millions make journeys home for Christmas.
UK airports are expected to have their busiest day on Friday 21 December.
Almost 20 million journeys will take place this week, with Thursday 21 and Friday 22 December expected to be the busiest days on the roads, according to research from the RAC and INRIX.
The Central line strike that was planned for 21 and 22 December has been called off.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “It's good news for Londoners that the strike planned on the Central Line this weekend has been called off. The strike would have caused major disruption for commuters and shoppers around the busy Christmas period."
The Bakerloo strike that was due to take place on Boxing Day, one of the busiest January sale shopping days, has been called off by union RMT following "significant progress in negotiations".
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said in a statement: “I want to pay tribute to RMT members on the Bakerloo Line whose solidarity and determination has enabled our negotiators to make enough progress in talks to allow the suspension of the Boxing Day strike action."
However, the strike for 13-14 January is still planned. RMT has instructed staff at key Bakerloo line stations Charing Cross, Elephant & Castle, Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus not to sign on for work.
See our updated round-up of Christmas travel closures and cancellations in London here.
A Virgin Atlantic pilots' strike planned for 22-25 December has been "postponed" after the airline was granted an injunction by a High Court Judge.
The planned industrial action was instigated by the PPU, a union that claims 300 Virgin pilots as members - 72 per cent of those balloted voted in favour of a strike.
The airline said in a statement: “We’re pleased that the High Court has granted an injunction. We took the decision to go to court reluctantly, but we felt it necessary to ensure that our customers will be able to travel over the festive period as planned.
"With the significant disruption to flights already caused by today’s closure of Gatwick Airport, our utmost priority is now getting our customers to their destinations over the festive period."
A PPU statement said: "Naturally we are disappointed in the outcome of today’s hearing where the injunction application was partially upheld on a ballot technicality. We will study the judgement detail and prepare our next move. The strike action planned to commence on December 22 must be postponed meantime."
It added: "Despite this setback we hope that a tangible agreement can be achieved, one that recognises the PPU as an independent union, a union that represents hundreds of VA pilots."
If your flight from Gatwick was cancelled or delayed due to the drone interference yesterday, here's a handy guide to your rights as a passenger.
Simon Calder, The Independent's travel correspondent, says that regardless of the circumstances of the cancellation, the rules are clear. "It is the airline’s responsibility to sort out your journey, finding another flight – either on its own services or a rival – and providing meals and, if necessary, accommodation until it can get you where you need to be."
Unfortunately that does not mean that passengers are entitled to cash compensation, though. Drone interference counts as "extraordinary circumstances" and no payment is due to passengers.
Today is the busiest day of the year for outbound air travel, says booking platform Skyscanner.
Heathrow Airport alone is expected to deal with more than 100,000 passengers.
Skyscanner has created a page collating all real-time flight information for 14 airports across the UK, including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.
Find it here.
Follow all the news from the Gatwick drone fall-out on our live blog here.
Delays and cancellations are still ongoing. Passengers are advised to check with their airline that their flight is still running before setting off for the airport.
This weekend is expected to be a busy one on the London Underground as people finish off last-minute festive shopping or travel elsewhere for Christmas.
Listen carefully at London Bridge, Waterloo and Stratford stations and you might hear Mariah Carey telling you to hold onto the handrail on the escalators. Yes, really...
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