British holidaymakers are facing travel chaos this Easter with four-hour airport waits, soaring fuel prices and the shutdown of railway lines.

All UK travellers now have to be photographed and fingerprinted at EU airports under the new entry and exit system that becomes fully operational on April 10. 

The Home Office and holiday companies have warned of two to four hour queues at some destinations over the bank holiday weekend, which begins on April 3. 

Rail passengers are also facing disruption due to a six-day shutdown on Britain’s biggest intercity line and the suspension of some London Underground services. 

Families travelling with luggage to see relatives will be forced to take replacement buses in some areas as millions of people make journeys over the four-day weekend. 

No West Coast Main Line services will run between London Euston and Milton Keynes from Good Friday, April 3 to Wednesday, April 8 due to engineering works.

On the Tube, there will be no Hammersmith and City line trains for the entire four-day weekend. There will also be closures on the District line and Docklands Light Railway. 

Meanwhile, Brits heading out on the roads are facing fuel price hikes and possible bumper-to-bumper tailbacks. Economic shockwaves from the Iran war have seen the cost of petrol soar to nearly 150p a litre. Diesel is also nearing the 180p mark.

Traffic is expected to worsen from today as schools break up for the holidays, and will peak over the long Easter weekend.

The AA said more than 19million people travelled on Good Friday last year, with 18.5 million on the Saturday and 18.2million on each of Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

Delays at airports across the EU have already led to some British holidaymakers missing their flights home.  

Under the new system, non-EU nationals, including UK citizens, entering the Schengen Area are required to register biometric details, including fingerprints and photographs. 

The process must be done in person and at the border on arrival, meaning it can take time and cause backlogs. 

Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO of travel business network Advantage Travel Partnership, urged holidaymakers to leave at least four hours spare to account for the delays. 

‘Since the implementation of EES first began in October last year, we’ve already seen instances of significant delays at different airports and at different times,’ she said. 

Meanwhile, a series of railway engineering works are scheduled to take place over the Easter weekend. 

Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway said services will start and end at Milton Keynes with buses to Bedford for onwards trains to London St Pancras, given the shutdown from Euston to Milton Keynes.

The closure by Network Rail forms part of a wider £400million project to improve reliability of the West Coast Main Line, which is Europe’s busiest mixed-use railway.

A series of works will be carried out such as £8.4milion of new track to be laid at Willesden in North West London – including the renewal of switches and crossings, which are moveable sections of track that guide trains from one track to another.

A further £8million will be spent on new overhead power equipment around the Wembley area; while £6.6million will go towards waterproofing a bridge in Ledburn near Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire to prevent future damage to the structure.

Engineers will carry out a £7million signalling upgrade nearby, while £5.8million will be spent on Harrow and Wealdstone to repair station canopies and improve platforms.

An additional £2million of works will be carried out in Bushey in Hertfordshire in a project to upgrade the power supply that keeps trains moving in and out of London. 

These works will also impact Bakerloo line and Overground trains, which will not run between Euston, Harrow and Wealdstone and Watford Junction on Saturday, April 4 and Easter Sunday, April 5.

Further up the West Coast Main Line, trains between Preston and Lancaster will also be suspended between the Saturday and Sunday.

A Shell petrol station in Dedworth, Berkshire, yesterday where prices were 149.9p per litre

The suspension to install new signals and power supply equipment mean Avanti West Coast will operate a special Preston to Carlisle service via the Settle and Carlisle line.

TransPennine Express and Northern services will terminate at Preston, Oxenholme or Grange-over-Sands.

Anglo Scottish passengers will also be impacted, with those travelling from Carlisle to Glasgow Central or Edinburgh warned to expect disruption.

New track and points being installed in south Glasgow mean services will be diverted via Dumfries and Kilmarnock over all four days of the Easter weekend.

Buses will replace trains on the Carstairs route between Glasgow and Edinburgh between the Saturday and Monday.

Jake Kelly, Network Rail regional director for North West and Central, said: ‘We know how important Bank Holidays are – particularly at Easter, when families and friends come together – and that’s why we work hard to keep as much of the network open as possible while carrying out these vital upgrades.

‘However, Bank Holidays are also among the least busy times on the railway, and the four-day period at Easter gives us a valuable opportunity to complete projects that simply can’t be delivered during a normal weekend.

‘This ensures we maximise the time our teams are out working on the tracks. So passengers will see some changes and it’s a good idea for people to check before they travel.’

Network Rail also shut parts of the West Coast Main Line for four days over the Easter break last year.

Chris Liptrot, operations director at Avanti West Coast, said: ‘While Network Rail carry out this essential work, we’ll be operating an amended timetable with journeys to and from London Euston involving changes or rail replacement buses.

Traffic builds up on the M25 motorway near Leatherhead in Surrey on Good Friday last year

Cars queue at check-in to board ferries at the Port of Dover in Kent on Good Friday last year

‘We strongly advise customers making journeys to or from London Euston between 3 and 8 April to plan ahead and check the National Rail website before travelling.’

Jonny Wiseman, customer experience director for London Northwestern Railway, added: ‘I would like to thank our customers for their patience while Network Rail carries out these essential upgrades to the railway over the Easter period.

‘During this time it is important for passengers to plan their journeys carefully as rail replacement transport will be in operation and travel times will be extended.’

Engineers will be involved in more than 270 other upgrade projects across the network over the Easter period.

Some of these will impact trains between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction.

New switches and crossings – moveable sections of track that guide trains from one track to another – and structural repairs will mean reduced services on this section.

Further down the line, track improvements in Hampshire mean buses will replace trains between Winchester and Southampton over all four days of the long weekend.

In Kent, the installation of new tracks through Margate station will mean buses replace trains between Herne Bay and Ramsgate via Broadstairs for the four days.

Transport for London will also be closing parts of the Underground network, with no Hammersmith and City line trains for the entire four-day weekend.

London Euston station will have no trains to or from Milton Keynes for six days from April 3 to 8

Engineering works on the West Coast Main Line at Kensal Green in London in Easter 2025

There will also be closures on the District line between Whitechapel and Upminster; and Earl’s Court to Kensington (Olympia); and on the Docklands Light Railway between Bank and Tower Gateway, and Poplar to West India Quay. 

The Bakerloo line will have no service from Stonebridge Park to Harrow and Wealdstone on April 3 and 6, and no trains from Queen’s Park to Harrow and Wealdstone on April 4 and 5.

On the Overground, the Lioness line will have no service from Euston to Willesden Junction on April 4 and 5; and the Mildmay line will be suspended between Willesden Junction and Richmond on April 5.

The Elizabeth line will have a reduced service on April 5 between Paddington and Maidenhead and at Heathrow Terminal Four, with no trains at Acton Main Line, Hanwell and West Ealing.

Meanwhile National Highways warned roads are ‘expected to be especially busy over the Easter bank holiday’ – and it will lift 1,500 miles of roadworks between April 2 and 6.

The organisation said this keep 98 per cent of routes clear and help ease congestion for drivers, freight and local businesses.

Colin Stevenson, road safety information lead at National Highways, said: ‘Millions of people will be hitting the roads over Easter, and we want everyone to have a safe and smooth journey.

‘A few simple checks can help to prevent many of the breakdowns we see each year and help drivers avoid unexpected delays, cost and stress.’

These checks are defined within the organisation’s ‘Trip’ campaign as:

• Top‑up: Fuel or electric charge, oil and screen wash.
• Rest: Take a minimum 15‑minute break every two hours behind the wheel to avoid fatigue and get a good night’s rest before travelling.
• Inspect: Check tyre pressure and tread and visually check for any obvious vehicle issues.
• Prepare: Plan your route, check the weather and pack essentials in case of delays.