UK travel news live: Christmas traffic and train delays set to impact festive season

Nearly 3 million trips are predicted to take place on the roads today December 20, with a “gridlock period” expected in late afternoon and early evening.

The RAC recommends festive commuters avoid major routes during these hours. Queues of more than 45 minutes are expected on the M3 between Surrey and Hampshire, on the M25 in west London, and the M1 near Watford.

Further north, the M53 northbound from Chester to Liverpool will be worst affected by delays during home-time traffic.

Amber traffic warnings have been issued by the AA for today through to Sunday.

You can still get away at a reasonable price this side of Christmas. The cheapest flight-plus-accommodation deal I have found for a week, flying away on 24 December, is just £180 per person in a four-star hotel. Per hour, that’s basically one guinea (ask an elderly relative). Spoiler alert: the deal, from easyJet Holidays, may not be the trip of your dreams. You fly on 24 December from Birmingham all the way to, er, Glasgow, and check in at the Doubletree by Hilton on the northern edge of the city centre. That’s about 200 miles closer to the North Pole than the West Midlands. And you will be flying back just as Scotland’s Hogmanay celebrations get under way on 31 December.

If a southbound trip is more enticing, British Airways Holidays has a three-night Yuletide break on the Côte d’Azur, out on Christmas Eve and back on 27 December, for £191 per person. This includes flights from London Heathrow to Nice and a stay at the three-star So’Co boutique property (which describes itself as “a subtle blend of vintage and contemporary”) and 63kg of baggage (physical, not emotional). When you arrive you will also discover the UK is an outlier in locking down on 25 December. Plenty of trains shuttle up and down the Riviera, allowing you to visit Antibes and Cannes on Christmas Day should whim or appetite take you there.

The best airfare bargain for the last week of the year, though, is Jet2 from Edinburgh to Lanzarote for an absurdly low £92 return, flying out on Christmas Eve and back to the Scottish capital on New Year’s Eve (probably crossing flightpaths with those folks who opted for the Birmingham to Glasgow adventure). How can a 3,900-mile round trip on a quality airline be so darned cheap? Because accommodation on the islands is in short supply, and therefore demand for seat-only deals is weak. This could be the year for Christmas camping in the Canaries.

The AA has released its predictions of where the worst snarl ups will be on the roads over the festive period and which days drivers can expect the most traffic.

Today, Friday December 20 is expected to see the most cars on the road, with an estimated 23.7 million drivers planning a trip.

The breakdown rescue company predicts that the joint second worst days for congestion over the festive period will be tomorrow Saturday December 21 and Monday December 23, each with 22.7 million drivers on the road.

It has identified several likely congestion hotspots, including:

• M4/M5 interchange near Bristol
• M25 near Heathrow airport, west London
• M5/M6 interchange near Birmingham
• M60 near the Trafford Centre, Manchester
• M1 near Meadowhall, Sheffield

See the AA’s map of the worst traffic jams:

The last thing anyone wants is to miss a flight just before Christmas – so The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder has pulled together some advice for stress-free travel during the festive period.

• Sort out your holiday money in advance
• Research the customs rules for your destination
• Check that you can reach the airport
• Allow for long security queues
• Wrap presents after security
• Leave Christmas crackers out
• Avoid too much celebratory booze

Read Simon Calder’s full guide on stress-free festive travel:

This week Avanti West Coast announced fresh strikes that will take place in the final hours of 2024 continuing until the late May bank holiday weekend.

The first will take place towards the end of the festive period on December 31 meaning New Year’s Eve revellers may need to seek alternative forms of transport. Further strikes are then planned for Thursday 2 January and then every Sunday between 12 January and 25 May.

Avanti West Coast centres on the West Coast main line to and from London Euston, and serves a number of main cities including Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow.

On most strike days, the company operates a skeleton service. On the core routes linking London with Birmingham and Manchester, typically one train an hour will run – compared with the normal three-per-hour schedule.

Hourly trains will also run to Liverpool via Crewe (except on 2 January, when the line through Crewe is closed), with less frequent services via Preston and Carlisle to Glasgow.

Read Simon Calder’s full breakdown of the train strikes here:

As Christmas falls on a Wednesday this year, the RAC predicts there will be an extended period of “pre-Christmas panic” on the roads as people travel up and down the motorways and roads ahead of the festive celebrations.

5.7m extra trips are expected to be taken this Wednesday and Thursday alone. The peak times are 1pm-6pm on 18 December and 8am-6pm the following day, the RAC says.

Around 29.3 million Christmas journeys will take place between Wednesday and 24 December, the RAC has estimated, with nearly half taking place on the pre-Christmas weekend alone.

Read more from Albert Toth:

The UK Civil Aviation Authority says that regulator data trends suggest airports will be even busier this month than the almost 11 million passengers who jetted off in December 2023, with the demand for flights expected to get back to pre-pandemic levels.

The Independent predicts these will be the busiest days:

• Heathrow: Friday 20 December (outbound); Friday, Saturday and Sunday 3/4/5 January (inbound).
• Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted: Saturday and Sunday 21/22 December (outbound); Saturday and Sunday 4/5 January (inbound). The intermediate weekend, 28/29 December, will be very busy.
• Luton: Friday 20 December (outbound); Fridays 27 December and 3 January (inbound).

Friday, 20 December, especially the evening rush hour, is expected to be one of the busiest times for Christmas travel on the UK’s roads and motorways.

The AA predicts that Friday will see a record 23.7 million car journeys on motorways and trunk roads.

The Met Office said that drivers should prepare for spray on the roads at times with some blustery winds in places too.

Christmas Eve will mostly be everyone’s final chance to reach their Christmas destination for the holidays, as no passenger trains will run in the UK on Christmas Day and Boxing Day will be similar, except for some rare exceptions.

On 24 December, trains will start to roll into their depots ahead of Christmas from late afternoon onwards.

The last direct trains on key intercity routes are:

• London King’s Cross-Edinburgh: 5.30pm/Edinburgh-London King’s Cross: 4.13pm
• London Euston-Manchester Piccadilly: 5.55pm/Manchester Piccadilly-London Euston: 6.13pm
• London Paddington-Cardiff Central: 7.48pm/Cardiff Central-London Paddington: 8.18pm
• London Victoria-Gatwick Airport: 8.45pm/Gatwick Airport-London Victoria: 7.32pm
• Bristol Temple Meads-Leeds: 4.35pm/Leeds-Bristol Temple Meads: 4.11pm
• Glasgow Queen Street-Aberdeen: 6.41pm/Aberdeen-Glasgow Queen Street: 6.36pm

All Caledonian Sleeper services are cancelled until 27 December.

The RAC predicts there will be an extended period of “pre-Christmas panic” on the roads, with 5.7m extra trips being taken this Wednesday and Thursday alone.

The peak times are 1pm-6pm on 18 December and 8am-6pm the following day.

However, Friday 20 December is set to be the busiest day of the winter on motorways and trunk roads according to rival motoring organisation the AA, which predicts a record 23.7 million car journeys.

The organisation warns Saturday 21 and Monday 23 December will also be extremely busy, with 22.7 million on each day. The RAC, meanwhile, predicts 1-6pm on Saturday and 10am-4pm on Monday will be the busiest times.

The Independent has analysed AA figures to calculate that one in seven motorists plans to drive more than 100 miles on “frantic Friday”, 20 December.

Find out more about Christmas road congestion here: