Will travel be hit by more chaos this year?

Many people are setting off their travels during the great summer getaway as schools across England and Wales enjoy their six-week holidays.

But last year’s summer season was marked by widespread travel disruption.

So whether you’re travelling by plane, train, road or ferry, will things be smoother this time round?

This summer is set to be the busiest time for aviation since before the pandemic.

Some 92,404 flights were scheduled to depart the UK in July, according to aviation data firm Cirium – the most since October 2019.

Last summer, demand for travel roared back after Covid travel restrictions were eased. But many airports and airlines that had made cuts during the pandemic struggled to recruit staff quickly enough.

They insist they’ve pulled out all the stops to make their operations more resilient this year.

However, there are different headaches this year, which could mean further disruption, although not necessarily on the scale of last year’s problems.

Strike action, notably by French air traffic controllers, has been causing cancellations and delays for months.

Flights over France to destinations such as Spain and Portugal have also been affected, which Ryanair’s boss has repeatedly complained about.

However, some action has been called off. Eight days of strikes planned in July and August by ground handlers at Gatwick Airport will now not go ahead.

Industrial action isn’t the only issue.

The air traffic control environment is “challenging”, according to Willie Walsh, who heads up global airline body Iata.

Europe’s air space remains constrained and clogged up due to the Ukraine war.

“In the event of French strikes some flights may be rerouted through other, already congested, air space which itself creates additional pressure,” says aviation expert John Strickland.

“Manpower shortages in parts of Europe such as Greece and Denmark [are] causing capacity bottlenecks, which create further delays.

“Indeed one European airline CEO told me that the whole of European air traffic control except the UK was ‘a mess’.”

Mr Strickland thinks events like summer storms could add pressure to an already stretched system, leading to delays and cancellations.

On the railway, industrial action by unions could affect the plans of thousands of people going on day trips or holidays.

Rail workers in the RMT union at 14 train companies with government contracts staged a number of one-day strikes in July, although no more are currently scheduled.

Their dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions has been going on for more than a year now.

The RMT strikes took place after the union rejected the latest proposals from the industry, which is backed by the government.

The train companies are under pressure from the government to cut costs. With the national dispute at a standstill, they have since announced controversial plans to close most station ticket offices in England.

Train drivers in the Aslef union have also been taking action short of a strike in the form of an overtime ban at 15 train companies. The latest overtime ban ends onSaturday 5 August, after starting on Monday 31 July.

But the union will be holding another week-long overtime ban from Monday 7 to Saturday 12 August.

Traffic is expected to increase during the summer holiday season, and roads could be busier than usual as train strikes push people into cars instead.

“It’s likely that people will consider altering their journey plans and they may well travel by car instead so it’s important they check their vehicle is roadworthy before setting off,” says Frank Bird, senior network planner at National Highways.

“We’d also remind motorists to check the weather forecast… and to take plenty of drinking water with them as well as food that won’t be affected by the heat in case of delays.”

Dover is Europe’s busiest ferry port, and summer is its peak time as passengers head across the Channel.

It will be under the spotlight again after many passengers experienced long queues last July and during this year’s Easter holidays.

However, he said “it would be foolish” to guarantee there would never be queues. Mr Bannister added that additional passport checks were a factor.

The port’s location between cliffs and the sea means space is limited.

It says measures in place ahead of the summer holidays include working with coach and ferry operators to spread out travel at peak times, extra space to process coach passengers, and putting in more border control posts.

Local authorities and emergency services have traffic management plans for busy times, including queuing up lorries on the M20 motorway.

This system was reinstated ahead of the busy July and August period.