One of busiest travel days as 1,000 flights leave London airports amid queues and protest threats

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Almost 1,000 flights are expected to depart London airports on Friday on what's expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the year, amid road traffic queues and the threat of fuel protests.

According to figures from Cirium, Friday 22 July is the second busiest day of 2022 for travel, with 591 flights departing from Heathrow Airport and 399 from Gatwick.

With the majority of schools broken up for summer holidays and up to a million holidaymakers set to jet off this weekend from UK airports, the M25 is expected to see some of the worst jams due to the summer getaway.

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The notorious orbital motorway is expected to see the worst delays between Bromley and the Dartford Crossing; Maple Cross and the M3; and the M23 to the M40.

As well as summer holiday traffic, the Fuel Price Stand Against Tax group has suggested its nationwide demonstrations on Friday will include the London area.

On Thursday police arrested a 22-year-old woman from London who climbed motorway signs on the M25 in response to the extreme temperatures in the UK.

The Just Stop Oil protest was to demonstrate against what the group described as the government’s "inadequate preparations" for climate change.

Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, recently introduced a cap of 100,000 daily departing passengers until 11 September, and pleaded with carriers to stop selling summer tickets.

Gatwick Airport said this week that it has hired 400 new security staff to help ease queues.

Earlier this week actor and political activist Hugh Grant described Heathrow's treatment of visitors as "inhumane" the as he tweeted a picture of extreme queues at immigration control in the airport's Terminal 3.

More delays were expected from a British Airways workers strike at the airport this summer, but workers called off industrial action on Friday after accepting a pay offer.

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