Millions of Britons are facing the Easter holidays from hell with motorway gridlocks and unrest in France sparking travel chaos
BRITS hoping for an Easter holiday face travel hell.
Families traveling to France face delays, cancellations and huge queues – then riots and strikes once they finally make it across the Channel.
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At home, 17 million drivers are expected to get behind the wheel on Good Friday, leaving the motorways blocked. Train passengers are also confronted with significant disruptions throughout the weekend.
In huge queues in Dover, families sat bumper to bumper for hours as they waited to board the ferries.
Their agony across the English Channel deepened when they arrived in Calais and faced nearly identical delays at passport control.
Flights were grounded and Eurostar train services halted as French workers staged a general strike.
They set up blockades near Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris – while rioters in the capital and in the cities of Nantes and Toulouse engaged in ongoing battles with police.
Up to two million Britons were planning to travel abroad for the Easter holidays. But last night they were warned to prepare for days of chaos – and urged to stay away from parts of France.
Those taking a break in Britain face a deadlocked motorway as a record 17 million drivers take to the roads.
Motorways are likely to be the busiest since 2019.
The disruption will extend to the country’s railways, with extensive engineering work planned. London Euston railway station – one of the capital’s main rail hubs – will be closed from today until Tuesday.
Those attempting to flee to the continent arrived at the Port of Dover to be warned: ‘This Easter weekend will be busy.
“There may be a few hours of waiting. Please be patient.”
Operation TAP – in which truck traffic enters the port in stages – also caused kilometers of traffic jams on the A20. The chaos in Dover began early with one traveler’s complaint: ‘We’ve been standing for 50 minutes. No movement.”
Another – who made it to Calais – said: “I’m stuck in a big backlog at passport control in the tunnel.”
Thousands of people sat in queues for up to 14 hours in Dover last weekend. Delays have been attributed to French border officials conducting additional checks and stamping British passports after Brexit.
Port officials said they had carried out an “urgent review” with ferry operators and French authorities to avoid a repeat.
Meanwhile, air traffic controllers in France went on strike.
Dozens of flights were grounded – including at least 20 operated by British Airways – as French airspace was all but closed.
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EasyJet services between Toulouse and Bristol and Gatwick and Bordeaux were among the cancellations. Ryanair said air traffic controllers in France had been on strike 30 days so far this year – forcing the cancellation of 3,080 of its flights over Europe.
There have been disruptions to the Eurostar high-speed train – with warnings more are to come.
A spokesman said: “New mobilization days can be announced at short notice by the French unions.
“Public transport and train services can continue to be disrupted in France.”
Unrest has erupted as the country vented anger at President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to raise the retirement age.
The Foreign Office warned Brits traveling to France to “ensure they have confirmed bookings and enough food and water” to avoid delays.
More than 10,200 flights will depart UK airports over the bank holiday weekend – 11 per cent more than last Easter.
But 1,400 security staff at Heathrow Airport are due to leave today in a dispute over pay.
BUT IT WILL GET WARM
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GLORIOUS sunshine is coming this Easter – with the hottest day of the year so far expected on Sunday.
Temperatures can reach 18°C (64.4°F) – and on March 30 in Santon Downham, Suffolk, surpassing 17.8°C (64°F).
Kathryn Chalk of the Met Office said today and Easter Saturday will be warm and sunny. But she added: “Sunday will probably be the best choice. It will be dry and steady with plenty of sunshine. It will be perfect Easter weather.”
Ladbrokes cut the odds to 5-2 because it was the hottest Easter Sunday on record – currently 25.3°C (77.5°F) in the Solent in 2011.
Rain is likely to seep into Bank Holiday Monday overnight but there will still be plenty of sunshine.
An increase in pollen counts is also expected for the weekend.