Christmas getaway passengers are facing major travel disruptions across Britain. Long queues have formed at the Port of Dover for ferry services, Cross Country has cancelled trains between Manchester and Birmingham due to a driver shortage, and motorists are encountering delays on the M25.
The disruptions come as the RAC predicts this will be the busiest Christmas getaway period on record. The motoring organisation forecasts 37.5 million leisure trips between Wednesday and Christmas Eve - the highest number since it began tracking this data in 2013.
Dover ferry delays
The Port of Dover is experiencing peak traffic volumes, with nearly 30,000 cars expected to pass through during the festive period. The busiest window is between 6am and 1pm.
Doug Bannister, chief executive of the Port of Dover, urged passengers to time their arrivals carefully. «To help ensure a smooth departure, we kindly ask all customers travelling with our ferry partners not to arrive any earlier than two hours before their scheduled sailing, just as you would if departing from a UK airport, and greatly appreciate everyone's patience should there be any additional waiting time due to the high volumes of traffic», he said.
P&O Ferries has advised customers to allow extra time for their journeys due to the anticipated congestion.
Train cancellations and road delays
Cross Country trains has cancelled services on Sunday afternoon, with disruption expected to continue until the end of the day. The rail operator had previously warned passengers that services would be busier than normal over the festive period.
Motorists are also experiencing hold-ups on the M25 clockwise between Junction 15 and Junction 19. The worst road delays are forecast for Christmas Eve, particularly between 11am and 7pm.
Record-breaking getaway
Sunday alone is expected to see 3.5 million car journeys, according to RAC research. Christmas Eve is predicted to be even busier, with 4.2 million getaways forecast - making it the single busiest day of the festive period.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
