Britons brace for strikes, traffic jams and border delays as Easter exodus returns

theguardian.com:

Holidaymakers are heading to Europe in huge numbers this Easter, piling pressure on airlines to avoid a repeat of last year’s travel chaos.

Flight bookings from the UK to Europe have leapt by 12% compared with the 2019 Easter period, before the pandemic, according to ForwardKeys, a flight data provider, while European tourists are tending to stay at home.

But with strikes affecting airports in the UK and Europe, travellers going abroad face an uncertain weekend.

The Port of Dover said on Saturday that it was “deeply frustrated” by “significant delays” to coaches caused by lengthy French border processes and the sheer volume of traffic. A critical incident has been declared and coach passengers have been told to expect delays of several hours.

“Food and drink have been provided and we offer our sincere apologies for the prolonged delays people have endured,” a spokesman said.

Those staying behind will be able to choose from an unprecedented number of special events taking place next week, according to tourism authorities, although traffic jams are likely, with the AA predicting 15 million people will be on the road at the weekend.

Last year at Easter, there was disruption at Heathrow and Manchester airports, caused by a combination of staff shortages affecting baggage handlers and airport security, the war in Ukraine and Covid restrictions at some destinations. Airlines made 41,000 planned cancellations in 2022, but this year say they have enough staff to avoid a repeat.

However, industrial action in the run-up to Easter has forced British Airways to cancel 300 flights so far, mostly to Europe. Security staff at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 are on strike until Easter Sunday. EasyJet warned that strikes by Italian air traffic