Easter traffic: Drivers stuck in massive 27 MILE queues as 28M cars hit the road this weekend

WHOPPING 27-MILE queues are building on a major motorway this afternoon as Brits head away for the Easter weekend.

An astonishing 27.6million cars will hit the roads on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the biggest springtime getaway since 2019.

Despite the chaos, this is the best day to travel, experts say. Drivers have been advised to plan ahead and travel either on Thursday or early on Saturday to get away from the worst of the traffic.

The Department for Transport says officials are working with operators to minimise disruption.

But anyone getting behind the wheel has been warned to leave plenty of extra time for their journey, whenever they decide to depart.

Today, motorists travelling along the M25 have faced huge jams stretching back for almost 30 miles.

Motorists travelling clockwise between junctions eight and 15 are having a particularly hard time of it, with anyone heading out onto the carriageway warned they'll add an hour-and-a-half to their journey.

Queues are at their worst between Chertsey and Heathrow.

The situation could well worsen in the days to come. Good Friday is set to be the busiest of the bank holiday days, with 4.62 million trips planned. 

The worst spots for congestion include the M6 north between Junction 26 and Junction 36, the M25 clockwise from Junction 8 to Junction 16 and the A303 near Stonehenge. 

Those determined to take their car anyway will have an expensive weekend.

Thanks to soaring fuel costs, a 500-mile round trip will see drivers paying £20 more at the pumps than they did last Easter.

Edmund King, AA president, said: "All our polling suggests that Good Friday will be the busiest getaway day for Easter trips and staycations.

"If some drivers can leave on Thursday or early Saturday, they may miss some of the jams."

There's likely to be no good way to travel in the coming days, with engineering works on trains, chaos at ports and huge delays at airports.

P&O has suspended all of its passenger services across the Channel this weekend - weeks after laying off hundreds of workers without warning.

It will offer no sailings between Dover and Calais this weekend.

MONSTER QUEUES

Bosses said they hoped to restart services on Good Friday - but last night dashed the hopes of thousands of passengers.

It comes after the Maritime and Coastguard Agency found "deficiencies" on two of its ships, the Pride of Kent and the Spirit of Britain.

Both vessels are detained over safety concerns.

It will pile on misery for people in Dover, Kent, who have faced horrific queues for almost a fortnight.

Lorry drivers have also faced lengthy traffic jams as they try to reach the port.

Those hoping to head abroad for the weekend will be well-advised to check their flight details before travelling to airports.

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.

GRIDLOCK NIGHTMARE

But a slew of services have already been cancelled, with London airports particularly badly-hit.

British Airways and easyJet have grounded more than 80 services between them from their main bases, Heathrow and Gatwick.

Both airlines say the problems have been caused by staff sickness.

Meanwhile, Manchester Airport has told its passengers to expect 90-minute queues. Cops have been on standby amid concerns about mayhem at the travel hub.

And the situation will be just as grim for those hoping to take a train instead.

There'll be delays and cancellations as Network Rail launches 530 engineering projects costing £83m.

The West Coast Main Line will be closed between London Euston and Milton Keynes between Good Friday and Easter Monday due to upgrades of the existing line and HS2 work.

FLIGHTS GROUNDED

The closure will affect hundreds of thousands planning an Easter getaway.

That's because Euston, based in Camden, North London, is Britain's fifth busiest station and the busiest inter-city railway.

It connects the capital to the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland.

It poses a major headache for Liverpool and Manchester City fans travelling down for the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday.

On the plus side, it's set to be a gorgeous weekend.

Highs of 23C are possible in the south of England tomorrow.

Forecaster Craig Snell said: "As Bank Holidays go it is looking fairly fine and dry across the UK, so I think people will certainly be able to get out and enjoy the countryside or whatever it is they're doing over the Easter weekend.

"The weather will be playing ball.

"All in all, it looks like travel conditions are going to be fairly ok, weather-wise."