Easter Travel Disruptions Across UK Rail, Road, Air and Sea Services

Travel disruptions continued across multiple transport modes in the UK during the Easter 2026 holiday period. Rail services faced delays due to widespread engineering works, including a six-day closure of the line between London Euston and Milton Keynes that began on Good Friday, April 3.

This 50-mile section typically carries more than 100,000 passengers per day. A shutdown on the Avanti West Coast line also started on Good Friday and is set to last six days. Road travel is expected to see high volumes on Easter Monday, with busy conditions anticipated.

Motorists using ferry services from Dover to Calais and Dunkirk have been advised to arrive two hours before departure. Sea travel has been impacted by Storm Dave, the fourth named storm of the year, which brought disruptions to northern and western parts of the UK from Saturday overnight into Easter Sunday.

Several ferry crossings between Wales and Ireland, as well as between Scotland and Northern Ireland, were cancelled due to the storm. Sailings across the Irish Sea have since returned to normal. However, Caledonian MacBrayne services remain disrupted, with a significant portion of the fleet out of service.

The operator stated that services are subject to disruption or cancellation at short notice. Dozens of flights were affected by Storm Dave, particularly routes between Great Britain and Dublin. Inbound flights to airports in northern England experienced diversions.

For example, a Ryanair flight from Gatwick to Dublin, flight FR117, spent nearly two and a half hours in the air, including two unsuccessful landing attempts at Dublin, before returning to Stansted. At least six Jet2 and Ryanair planes diverted to Manchester from Leeds Bradford and were returned on Sunday morning.

One Jet2 aircraft diverted to Liverpool, two to Stansted, and an easyJet flight from Palma to Birmingham landed in Manchester. Other flights from Dublin were also diverted to Manchester.

Rail passengers are facing delays amid the engineering works on the network. Some UK airports reported record Easter passenger volumes, with easyJet anticipating carrying more passengers than in previous years. Strikes are ongoing at key Spanish airports, contributing to delays.

“Passengers entering the Schengen area are likely to wait even longer at border control during Easter due to the persisting operational challenges around the EU entry-exit system rollout." — Olivier Jankovec and Ourania Georgoutsakou, representing European airports and airlines The EU entry-exit system (EES) rollout began in October 2025, with member states required to register all third-country nationals by the end of March 2026. The Independent reported evidence indicating that this deadline will not be met due to technical difficulties. Aviation leaders Olivier Jankovec and Ourania Georgoutsakou issued a joint statement warning of longer wait times at border controls. They noted persistent shortages of border control staff, technical issues with self-service kiosks, and concerns over the reliability of the central EES IT system. Waiting times at airport border points have reached up to two hours during peak periods, with some airports reporting longer queues. The leaders called for a suspension of the full EES rollout planned for Wednesday. Border authorities have used partial and full suspensions of EES processes at most airports during peaks to mitigate queues. The disruptions affect thousands of travelers, including those planning domestic and international trips. Affected passengers include ferry users, rail commuters, and airline travelers facing unexpected cancellations, diversions, and border delays. Next steps include monitoring weather conditions, engineering work completions, and potential adjustments to the EES implementation to reduce impacts on travel.”