BUMPER TO BUMPER
Exact time to travel to avoid summer holiday chaos as 13m cars hit the road this weekend
BRITS have today been met with huge queues at Dover and major airports as the summer holiday travel chaos continues.
Hundreds of cars could be seen already building up at the Kent port this morning, inching forward one by one.
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The Port of Dover had already warned it was taking about 90 minutes for people leaving the UK to get through border checks before 8am.
It said while it is "an extremely popular travel day, traffic is moving according to plan".
More than 6,000 cars are set to arrive today, with a further 7,500 tomorrow.
Experts predict a whopping 13million cars will hit the road across the country today.
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The RAC urged drivers to plan their journeys carefully, saying that tomorrow is set to see upwards of 3.1 million leisure trips.
A further 2 million are expected on Sunday, with the RAC reporting higher number of breakdowns on top of the extra traffic.
RAC spokesperson Rod Dennies said: "There's no doubting the UK remains an ever-popular holiday destination with millions of drivers expected to take to the roads this week as schools in England and close for summer.
"We're seeing an enormous increase this year as drivers dependent on their vehicles for leisure and work contend with cripplingly high prices, leading to some scrimping on car maintenance as a result.
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"No driver should set off before a long journey without carrying out a few basic checks to ensure their cars have got the right levels of oil and coolant, as well as making sure all tyres have plenty of tread and are properly inflated."
The Met Office also emphasised the importance of planning ahead, with wet weather forecast throughout the weekend in many areas of the country.
Meanwhile, Brits trying to jet off from airports this morning were met with long security lines.
At Bristol Airport holidaymakers could be seen slowly moving along the snaking queues towards the gates.
It was similar chaotic scenes at London Gatwick, where the masses could be seen patiently waiting with suitcases in hand.
Hundreds of thousands of passengers are travelling through Heathrow and Gatwick airports in the coming days.
ABTA - the trade association for travel agents - added that a whopping 200,000 holidaymakers are expected to depart from Manchester Airport, and a further 71,000 from Bristol.
Long queues were also forming at London's St Pancras Station as the masses tried to leave the city via the Eurostar.
Mark Tanzer, ABTA chief executive, today said: "Thousands of families will be jetting off this weekend as the majority of schools in the UK start their summer break.
"Many of these will be taking their first overseas summer holiday since the pandemic, returning to much-loved destinations, and will have a fantastic experience in store.
"We're encouraging people to have a fun and safe holiday by taking sensible precautions if you're heading to an area with exceptionally high temperatures and taking particular care when in the water and on balconies."
The summer getaway chaos kicked off yesterday with queues and huge delays affecting Dover.
Travellers arrived at the port hours after bosses unveiled a plan to cope with large numbers.
But instead of a smooth transit, cars, caravans and motorhomes sat bumper to bumper.
Strikes in Europe by air traffic controllers and cabin crew have hit flights.
EasyJet has had to cancel 1,700, affecting up to 180,000 customers.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said: “If French ATC staff strike, it’s their domestic flights that should be cancelled.”
Plus, train strikes are set to spark more chaos.
RMT rail workers will walk out tomorrow, and Tube strikes will run for six days from Sunday.
Last week the long waiting times had been caused by tourist traffic starting their summer getaways early.
School term and holiday dates vary across the UK, but many kids are already off for the six-week break.
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In a message to waiting passengers, the port : "Today is already proving a popular travel day at Dover, and the port is busy processing strong volumes of tourist traffic.
"Teams from the port, Police aux Frontieres and our ferry operators are working to get you through as swiftly as possible."
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