Drivers are facing 90-minute delays at the Port of Dover as travel experts warn of heavy congestion ahead of the August Bank Holiday weekend. With more than 20,000 cars expected to pass through the port over the holiday period, delays are likely to cause headaches for travellers.
Transport analytics company Inrix has cautioned that the worst times for traffic jams on major roads across the country will likely be between 10 am and 6 pm on Friday and 10 am to 1 pm on Saturday. DFDS Seaways has already predicted 90-minute delays today for passengers travelling between Dover and Dunkirk, as bad weather adds to the congestion.
Travel disruption is expected across the board as Network Rail undertakes major engineering projects, further affecting rail services. Airports are also gearing up for one of their busiest weekends of the year. The aviation industry is hopeful there will be no repeat of last year’s August Bank Holiday Monday air traffic control outage, which grounded flights across the UK.
The RAC has estimated that 19.2 million leisure trips will be made by car across the UK between Friday and Monday, marking the highest number recorded since the motoring services company began tracking data for the summer bank holiday in 2015. Friday is expected to be the busiest day on the roads as getaway journeys coincide with regular commuter traffic.
In an effort to ease congestion, National Highways will lift more than 500 miles of roadworks by 6 am on Friday, keeping them off until Tuesday to “keep people moving.” Meanwhile, travel trade organization Abta estimates that more than two million people will be heading overseas between Friday and Monday, with Friday also expected to be the busiest day for departures.
Popular travel destinations include beach resorts in Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Turkey, as well as city breaks to Dublin, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, and Milan.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will release new videos on social media to remind passengers of their rights in the event of flight delays or cancellations, including access to food, drink, and accommodation as well as rebooking and refund options. CAA data shows that 160,000 flights were delayed, and 8,000 were cancelled across UK airports during July and August of last year.
With travel disruption expected across the country, travellers are advised to plan ahead and allow extra time for their journeys to avoid the worst of the delays.
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