Millions of Brits face Easter holiday from hell with motorways gridlocked and riots in France sparking travel mayhem
BRITS hoping for an Easter holiday getaway are facing travel hell.
Families heading for France will be met with delays, cancellations and huge queues — then rioting and strikes once they do finally make it across the Channel.
At home, 17 million drivers are expected to get behind the wheel on Good Friday, leaving motorways gridlocked. Rail travellers also face major disruption over the entire weekend.
Huge queues at Dover saw families sitting bumper to bumper for hours on end as they waited to board ferries.
Their cross-Channel agony deepened when they arrived in Calais to face near identical delays at passport control.
Flights were grounded and Eurostar rail services axed as French workers staged a general strike.
They set up blockades near Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris — whilst rioters fought running battles with police in the capital and the cities of Nantes and Toulouse.
As many as two million Brits planned to head overseas for the Easter break. But last night they were warned to prepare for days of bedlam – and urged to stay away from parts of France.
Those taking a UK break face gridlocked motorways as a record 17million drivers hit the road.
Motorways are likely to be at their busiest since 2019.
Disruption will extend to the country’s railways with major engineering work planned. London Euston station — one of the capital’s main rail hubs — will be shut from today until Tuesday.
Those trying to escape 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 lorry traffic is staggered into the port — also caused miles of tailbacks across the A20. The chaos at Dover began early with one traveller complaining: “We have been standing for 50 minutes. No movement.”
Another — who made it to Calais — said: “I’m stuck in a big backlog at tunnel passport checks.”
Last weekend thousands of people were stuck in queues for up to 14 hours at Dover. Delays were blamed on French border officials doing extra checks and stamping UK passports following Brexit.
Port officials have said they held an “urgent review” with ferry operators and the French authorities in a bid to avoid a repeat.
Meanwhile, air traffic controllers in France took strike action.
Dozens of flights were grounded — including at least 20 operated by British Airways — as French airspace all but closed.
EasyJet services between Toulouse and Bristol as well as Gatwick and Bordeaux were among those axed. Ryanair said air traffic controllers in France had been on strike for 30 days so far this year – forcing 3,080 of its flights over Europe to be cancelled.
There was disruption on Eurostar high-speed rail services – with a warning of more to come.
A spokesman said: “New days of mobilisation may be announced by French unions at short notice.
“Public transport and train connections may continue to be disrupted in France.”
Riots have erupted as the country vents its fury at President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to raise the retirement age.
The Foreign Office warned Brits heading to France to “ensure they have confirmed bookings and enough food and water” for delays.
More than 10,200 flights are set to leave UK airports over the Bank Holiday weekend – 11 per cent up on last Easter.
But 1,400 security staff at Heathrow Airport are today due to walk out again in a dispute over pay.
BUT IT’LL BE WARM
GLORIOUS sunshine is coming this Easter — with the hottest day of the year so far expected on Sunday.
Temperatures may hit 18C (64.4F) — beating the 17.8C (64F) at Santon Downham, Suffolk, on March 30.
The Met Office’s Kathryn Chalk said today and Easter Saturday will be warm and sunny. But she added: “Sunday is likely to be the pick of the bunch. It’s going to be dry and settled with lots of sunshine. It’ll be perfect Easter weather.”
Ladbrokes cut odds to 5-2 on it being the hottest Easter Sunday on record — currently the 25.3C (77.5F) in the Solent in 2011.
Rain is likely to push in overnight into Bank Holiday Monday but there will still be plenty of sunshine.
The weekend is also expected to trigger a rise in the pollen count.