Airports
BAA advises passengers to avoid congestion at airports by arriving no more than three hours before their scheduled departure and saying their goodbyes before entering terminal buildings.
Friday and Saturday are set to be the busiest days, with 1.7 million people expected to fly out of Britain. According to the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta), Heathrow will be the busiest airport over these two days, with an expected 375,000 passing through its departure gates, followed by Gatwick, with an expected 250,000, and Stansted and Manchester, both with 160,000.
Ryanair says passengers should use its online check in service, which is available from two days to four hours prior to departures. Swissport, Ryanair's ground handling agent at Stansted, has called off a planned strike this weekend, but the carrier is still warning of possible delays to its flights from the airport.
Security restrictions
Passengers are now permitted to carry one item of hand baggage, no larger than 45cm x 35cm x 16cm (17.7in x 13.7in x 6.2in), through airport security. Liquids, cosmetics (with some exceptions), toiletries, gels or pastes and sharp items are all prohibited from being carried in hand baggage. Lighters may not be carried either in hand baggage or checked-in baggage. Prescription medicines, baby milk and liquid baby food may be taken into plane cabins. BAA advises passengers to download their pdf guide for more information.
Passengers are allowed to take items purchased in departure lounges on board, but US-bound passengers be subjected to secondary searches at departure gates, and may not take any purchased toiletries, cosmetics, drinks or liquids on board.
Roads
The Highways Agency has suspended roadworks on 11 sites in England to ease congestion, but traffic management remains at 34 sites around the country. Motorists can check the agency's website for more details on roadworks, and are advised to check their real-time traffic information, or call 08700 660 115 for up-to-date information. Motorists can also check the BBC's regularly updated travel news pages.
The RAC says that roads are most likely to be congested between 4pm and 7pm today, as people leave work early to start their bank holiday. They advise drivers to plan ahead using a route planner, and to have alternative routes in mind in case they get stuck in traffic.
The AA advises drivers to plan carefully by listening to local traffic reports before departing, particularly if they are heading to the coast, national parks or other popular destinations. It also says motorists should check their vehicles and take simple precautions such as keeping a bottle of water in the car and checking their vehicle's battery, coolant and oil levels, and tyre tread and pressure.
To help motorists, the AA has drawn up a list of its top 10 traffic black spots:
· M25 around London, particularly J25-J26 Holmesdale Tunnel, Waltham Abbey (roadworks) and J12-J16, Staines to Uxbridge
· M4 westbound: J1-J5 Chiswick-Slough
· M6 around Manchester and Liverpool: J29-J30, Preston and J17, Sandbach
· M5 Southbound past Bristol: J15-J19; J21, Weston-Super-Mare
· A40 Oxford Northern Bypass, due to roadworks around Headington
· M1 northbound, particularly J6-J10 Hemel Hempstead-Luton (roadworks) and J23-J27 Loughborough-Nottingham
· M6 through the West Midlands: J5-J8 Birmingham-Walsall
· M5 Northbound in the Midlands: J1-M6, West Bromwich-Walsall
· A303 Westbound, around Stonehenge and at Podimore roundabout, north of Yeovil
· A30 in Devon and Cornwall, particularly at Bodmin and Carland Cross, near Newquay
Railways
Network Rail says that the railways are "open for business" and that it is a quiet engineering weekend. However, there will be some disruptions. Rail passengers are advised to check the National Rail Enquiries website (tel: 08457 48 49 50) or contact their train operating company for more information.
