Travel during the Christmas holiday season may be affected by ongoing train delays, as the Met Office has predicted the possibility of snow and ice.

At least 20 short haul flights within the UK and Europe have been cancelled by British Airways at London Heathrow due to air-traffic control limitations.

The departing flights from BA to Europe included Basel, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Geneva, and Munich, as well as the return flights.

Trips that departed from Heathrow and returned to Glasgow, Manchester, or Newcastle were affected by domestic cancellations.

A representative from British Airways stated that their schedule had to be modified due to ongoing air traffic control limitations caused by Storm Pia.

We have expressed our apologies to our customers for any inconvenience caused to their travel plans and our teams are putting in efforts to expedite their journeys.

According to the Met Office, today’s weather forecast predicts mostly gentle conditions, though it may be windy.

Precipitation is expected in Northern Ireland, northern and eastern regions of England, and western Scotland. The southwest will experience less rainfall and more sunshine.

Some snow showers can be expected in the colder regions of northern and eastern Scotland.

Precipitation will persist over Scotland and certain areas of northern England, potentially turning to snow in the northeastern region where temperatures will be low. Other regions will experience less precipitation, but will remain overcast and relatively warm.

Employees of the London Underground will initiate a succession of strikes in the upcoming year due to a disagreement regarding compensation.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) members have strongly voted in favor of engaging in industrial action due to a 5% salary proposal.

Engineering and maintenance staff will be implementing measures on January 5/6, during which there will be no working on rest days or overtime until January 12.

The London Underground operational base and power/control team will be participating in an event on January 7/8, while employees responsible for maintaining the fleet will go on strike on January 8.

Signal operators and service control personnel will go on strike on January 9 and 12, while all employees in the fleet, stations, and trains departments will participate in a walkout on January 10.

A woman and her two kids made reservations for a ferry to France as an alternative plan when their train was cancelled on Thursday.

Laure Sauve and her sons, Quentin (16) and Benjamin (12), were all booked on a 9:30am train on Friday. However, her 18-year-old son was unable to book the same train and had to travel separately later in the day.

The university lecturer, age 42 and living in Clapham Junction in London, expressed feelings of disappointment about the cancellation on Thursday.

However, she mentioned that the lines on Friday were tolerable as they had only been waiting for approximately 30 minutes.

Mrs Sauve mentioned that they were uncertain about the availability of trains for today, so they decided to secure ferry tickets as a backup plan.

We have experienced this situation before, having been in London for 15 years. It is a recurring question of whether we will be able to return to France in time for Christmas.

The family announced that they would be in France for 10 days over the Christmas holiday to visit relatives.

A man from France received a notification two hours prior to his scheduled trip to Paris on Thursday, informing him that his train had been cancelled.

Valentin Walch and Pauline Cerceau, both 26 years old, spent the night at a friend’s house. They mentioned seeing individuals who had stayed overnight at St Pancras due to disruptions in their travel plans.

The couple’s reservation was rescheduled for a Friday 2pm departure, so they arrived at the London station at 7am to wait.

According to Mr. Walch, a handball coach from Chartres, he and his team were feeling anxious and frustrated upon receiving an email that postponed their trip back to France following their visit to London.

He stated that they would rather arrive early and avoid sleeping at the train station like some of their acquaintances. Fortunately, they were able to stay at a friend’s place.

Travel disruptions during the Christmas season persist as travelers face extensive delays at border crossings, road closures on major highways, and train service cancellations.

The Port of Dover, located in Kent, is currently taking approximately 90 minutes to handle cars with pre-booked tickets.

The reason for the delay was due to a sudden increase in the need for ferries. This was caused by the closure of the Channel Tunnel rail link on Thursday, as a result of unexpected strikes by French workers. This caused major disruptions for tens of thousands of travelers.

Network Rail is getting ready to commence its holiday construction projects, which may result in disruptions to travel plans.

During the specified time period, from Sunday until December 27, London Paddington will not be operating. This means that Heathrow Airport will not have any mainline trains serving it during this time.

The London King’s Cross station will not be operational on Christmas Eve.

Construction of the new Cambridge South station and an engineering project near Southampton will result in service disruptions outside the capital.

There will be no train services on December 25th, but a limited schedule will be available on December 26th.

Traffic is expected to be at its highest on Friday, the last day before Christmas, as drivers going on holiday contend for space on the roads with commuters and business traffic.

The RAC projects that there will be 13.5 million leisure car trips in the UK from Friday to Sunday, which is a 20% increase from last year’s three-day period before Christmas Day.

Drivers were recommended to plan their trips before 11am or after 6pm, if feasible, in order to minimize the risk of getting caught in lengthy lines of traffic.

Transport analysis company Inrix has identified potential areas of heavy traffic on the M25, such as the clockwise stretch between junction 7 (leading to the M23 and Gatwick Airport) and junction 16 (connecting to the M40 and Birmingham), as well as the anti-clockwise section between junction 17 (Rickmansworth) and junction 12 (linking to the M3).

The M1 going north from Woburn, Bedfordshire to Daventry, Northamptonshire and the M6 going south from Wigan, Greater Manchester to Stafford, Staffordshire are both predicted to experience heavy traffic and long lines.

During the festive season, Friday and Saturday are projected to be the busiest days on Britain’s railway system. This will put additional strain on the main stations in London, specifically Paddington and King’s Cross. These intercity stations will be closed on Christmas Eve for maintenance purposes.

On Thursday, Storm Pia and broken-down trains caused the cancellation of numerous trains on both the East and West Coast main lines, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.

Numerous trains to and from London Euston and King’s Cross were cancelled.

LNER, the primary rail company on the East Coast, expressed regret for the disruptions to travel schedules leading up to the holiday season. This was caused by powerful winds that affected LNER services on Thursday, December 21st.

Tickets for trains that were cancelled on Thursday can be redeemed for any LNER services on Friday.

Avanti West Coast has removed all restrictions on peak tickets until Sunday, January 7th, enabling travelers to use less expensive off-peak fares for their journeys.