Easter getaway: Will your journey be disrupted this weekend?

Words by ITV Meridian Journalist Harry Acton.

Holidaymakers are being warned of queues and delays this easter weekend, as 27.6m journeys are set to be made across the country.

It's potentially going to be the busiest weekend for 8 years, as people take advantage of a lack of covid restrictions to getaway.

Experts have warned, however, that journeys may be disrupted across all travel sectors.

Thursday has already seen long queues on motorways across the region, as well as disruption to flights from Gatwick Airport, as airlines deal with staff shortages.

Where is disruption likely to occur on the regions roads and why is it happening?

Many of us will be taking to the roads this Easter, with millions expected to travel on Thursday evening and throughout Friday.

This means that major motorways and A roads are likely to have queues.

There are several roads in the Meridian region which are traffic hotspots, which could be most affected tomorrow.

Drivers are also warned to fill up their tanks before they embark on a long journey, as fuel supplies in the South East are currently patchy.

There is disruption to fuel supplies in Kent, East Sussex and Hampshire currently, due to actions by Just Stop Oil.

Protests have been held at refineries and distribution centres in the region, including at Esso's Heathrow Terminal and BP's centre in Hamble.

RAC traffic spokesman Rod Dennis said: “Although we’re expecting the biggest number of Easter getaway trips by car tomorrow – around 4.6m – it’s clear some drivers are keen to make an early escape ahead of the bank holiday.

“As well as the closure of the coastbound M20 for Operation Brock Zero, earlier collisions are causing problems on the south-eastern M25 and roads connecting with it, as well as on the A303 in Wiltshire."

M3

The M3, which links London, the South Coast and the South West (via the A303) has already seen large volumes of traffic, as motorists head towards holiday destinations.

There were queues of over 30 minutes reported near to Southampton on Thursday, when a motorists collided with a barrier at Junction 13.

The road's link to the M27 meant motorists were forced to find an alternative route to get to the coast, gridlocking roads in Southampton and Eastleigh.

Motoring groups have warned that there could be similar scenes tomorrow, as 4.7million journeys are made on Good Friday alone.

Watch: Drivers were caught in several miles of tailbacks on the M3.

M27/A31

The M27 merges with the A31 at Cadnam, where three lanes become two.

This particular stretch of road is prone to long queues in the summer months, as people head to towards Bournemouth and Poole.

There are alternative routes through the New Forest, but these are subject to 40mph speed limits and motorists should be aware of wildlife on the roads.

On Thursday there were queues of several miles as drivers headed to the coast.

The A31 also had several miles of queues in the Ringwood area where roadworks to widen the road are currently underway.

Watch: Long queues formed on the A31.

M20

Drivers are being urged to seek an alternative route and not to use the M20 this weekend due to Operation Brock.

Due to reduced ferry capacity there are queues of lorries stretching for several miles along the motorway.

A contraflow is in place, but local roads are reported to be extremely busy.

There are signed diversions for Folkestone and Dover, which motorists should follow.

Kent Resilience Forum Strategic Planning Lead Simon Jones said: “KRF partners, including National Highways, Kent County Council and Kent Police, continue to work around the clock to keep Kent’s roads flowing as smoothly as possible.

“Tourist traffic is currently moving freely through to Dover and EuroTunnel and both gateways have the capacity to handle existing passenger bookings for Easter weekend.

“But with freight levels set to increase again as we go through this week, we will continue to closely manage truck traffic with controlled releases from the M20 to avoid further disruption – and this will remain our approach as we go through the remainder of the Easter holiday period."

M2/A2

The M2 is expected to be extremely busy, as drivers use the motorway instead of taking the M20.

There have been long queues stretching from Junction 7 to Junction 5 in recent days.

Once drivers reach the A2 traffic begins to ease.

However, the situation could change over the weekend as ferry capacity is reduced. Motorists are being told to leave extra time to get to the Port of Dover to board the ferry they have booked.

A27

The A27 which runs along the South Coast is predicted to be extremely busy throughout the Easter getaway.

Queues were reported in Chichester, Brighton and near Eastbourne.

Neighbouring roads, like the A259 near Hastings and the A21 near Hurst Green also saw delays for motorists.

Will there be rail services this easter?

Depending on where you live you may have a rail service this Easter.

Network Rail is set to carry out 530 engineering projects costing a total of £83 million across the country.

Rail services to and from Clapham Junction are set to be majorly impacted by engineering works, disrupting services which terminate at London Victoria and London Waterloo.

Southwestern Railway and Southern are warning passengers that timings will be revised, with buses replacing trains on certain days.

Both operators are urging passengers to check before they travel and to expect longer journey times.

Neighbouring operator Southeastern is warning passengers in Kent that lines through Tonbridge will be closed over the weekend.

Buses will replace trains Tonbridge, Paddock Wood and Tunbridge Wells.

Services from Hastings will terminate at Tonbridge and the Medway Valley line will terminate at Paddock Wood.

Great Western Railway and Chiltern Railways will be running services, but timings could change compared to the usual timetable.

Will flights still go ahead despite warnings of staff shortages?

Unfortunately, Thursday saw dozens of flights cancelled from Heathrow and Gatwick.

Easyjet and British Airways cancelled dozens of flights between them, as they deal with high levels of staff sickness.

However there is some good news for passengers.

Aviation data firm Cirium said 9,212 flights with 1.6 million seats are scheduled to depart from UK airports between Good Friday and Easter Monday.

The number of flights is 78% of the total for Easter 2019, before the coronavirus crisis affected travel.

The busiest day for flights will be Good Friday when 2,430 flights are due to depart from airports across the UK.

The official advice is to check with your airline before you travel to the airport.

Will ferries be running to the continent?

The short answer is, yes. However they are expected to be busier than normal.

Capacity at the Port of Dover has been significantly reduced since P&O Ferries sacked 800 of their workers and replaced them with agency staff last month.

Operators DFDS and Irish Ferries are still running, but they are not taking customers with P&O bookings.

A spokesperson for P&O said: “We apologise unreservedly to all customers whose scheduled journeys with us between Dover and Calais have been cancelled whilst we are unable to sail.

“It is only fair and right that we make alternative arrangements for those customers, which include transferring them on to our Hull-Europoort service to Rotterdam, or booking them on to services with Brittany Ferries between Portsmouth and Caen. ”

It said this would come at no extra cost for customers, with mileage expenses reimbursed and a 25% discount on the original fee.