Millions of drivers across the UK are being warned to prepare for severe congestion and long delays as the May Bank Holiday getaway begins, while rail passengers face widespread disruption caused by strikes and engineering work.
Transport experts expect one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, with roads, rail services, and ferry ports all set to experience heavy pressure as families head away during the school half-term break.
The AA has warned that Friday and Saturday are expected to be the busiest days on the roads, with traffic building from as early as 6am and continuing until around 1pm on both days.
Popular holiday routes heading towards coastal destinations are likely to experience the worst congestion. The AA highlighted the East Coast, the M4 route towards Wales, and the M6 heading to the North West as major traffic hotspots throughout the weekend.
Large numbers of travellers are also expected at the Port of Dover, where officials are preparing for what could become the busiest weekend of the year so far. Around 8,000 passengers are expected to travel through the port on Saturday alone as holidaymakers head to Europe.
At the same time, rail passengers are being urged to check their journeys carefully before travelling due to a combination of strike action and engineering work affecting multiple parts of the UK network.
Members of the RMT union working for West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway are staging strikes on Friday and Saturday, leading to reduced services and major timetable disruption.
Passengers travelling on Friday have been warned that no train services will operate after 7pm, while Saturday services are not expected to begin until after 7am.
Further disruption is being caused by planned engineering works across several major routes during the bank holiday period.
On the East Coast Main Line, rail services between York and Darlington will be suspended from Saturday through Monday, with replacement bus services operating instead.
Passengers travelling between Newport and Bristol Parkway will also face disruption, with replacement buses scheduled for two weeks starting from Saturday.
In London, there will be no Thameslink services running through central London between Saturday and Monday, affecting passengers travelling to and from Gatwick and Luton airports during one of the busiest travel weekends of the spring.
Transport analysts say the combination of leisure travel, school holidays, rail disruption, and warmer weather is likely to place significant strain on the UK transport network over the coming days.
Drivers are being advised to leave early, allow extra travel time, and monitor traffic updates before beginning their journeys.
Rail passengers are also being encouraged to check operator websites and revised timetables before travelling to avoid unexpected delays or cancellations.
The latest warnings come as the UK prepares for a surge in domestic travel during the long weekend, with holiday destinations, airports, and major transport routes all expected to experience unusually high demand.
