HomeTravelChristmas travel latest: Chaos as M40 shuts due to crash and flights...

Christmas travel latest: Chaos as M40 shuts due to crash and flights grounded

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Christmas rail travel disrupted by station closures and strike action

Travel chaos has descended on the UK’s motorways and airports on Christmas Eve as a crash involving a van has caused the M40 to shut while flights have been grounded.

National Highways said the part of the M40 in Oxfordshire is closed southbound between J8A, near Waterstock, and J6, near Lewknor, to recover an overturned HGV involved in an earlier collision.

Millions of journeys are set to be made across the UK’s roads on Christmas Eve in what is expected to be the busiest day of the festive season.

Of the around 29.3 million Christmas journeys the RAC estimated would take place between Wednesday and 24 December, 3.76 million are predicted to be made today, with drivers who must travel on 24 December urged to do so after 4pm.

Meanwhile, American Airlines has now lifted an hour-long ground stop of all its flights in the US due to an unspecified technical issue, a notice on the US aviation regulator’s website showed – although there are fears of consequent delays at airports.

Thousands of travellers faced flight, ferry and train cancellations over the weekend amid a “perfect storm” of adverse weather conditions and road congestion.

However, conditions are expected to improve this week after the widespread disruption, with the Met Office currently predicting a “grey Christmas” with some sunny spells and “extremely mild” temperatures.

American Airlines cleared after regulators ordered grounding of all flights

American Airlines flights were cleared to fly by regulators early on Tuesday after a brief grounding due to a systemwide technical issue.

Just before 7am Eastern time, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered all American Airlines flights grounded in the US at the airline’s request.

American had reported a technical issue affecting its entire system with millions traveling for the holiday.

In social media replies to frustrated travellers, the airline said: “Our team is currently working to rectify this. Your continued patience is appreciated.”

The company has not issued a press release explaining the issue and an email requesting a comment was not immediately returned.

A post on the Federal Aviation Administration’s website acknowledged the airline’s request for a “nationwide groundstop” for all American Airlines planes and their subsidiary airlines.

The grounding occurred with millions of travellers expected to fly over the next 10 days.

The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 40 million passengers over the holidays and through 2 January.

Tara Cobham24 December 2024 14:30

How to avoid travel chaos on road and rail this Christmas and New Year

Amber warnings for traffic gridlock, threatened strikes and the traditional rail engineering work interrupting major train links: it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

The festive season this winter will be busier than ever, with record numbers of travellers predicted at London Heathrow and many other airports, as well as on Britain’s motorways.

The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder outlines the key pinch points and potential problems – to help you plan to swerve the disruption, or at least to be prepared for crowds and chaos:

Tara Cobham24 December 2024 14:00

Long delays at Heathrow for American Airlines passengers

American Airlines passengers at London Heathrow endured a painful wait when their transatlantic flights were halted by the carrier’s network-wide ground stop.

Two American Airlines flights, AA109 to Boston and AA729 to Philadelphia, took off shortly after 11am – minutes before the order was issued.

The following flight, AA137 to Los Angeles, pushed back from the gate on schedule at 11.15am – but then held on the ground until the order was lifted. It finally took off at 1pm and is expected to reach California over an hour late – jeopardising onward connections.

The next American Airlines departure from Heathrow, AA57 to Miami, spent 75 minutes on the ground before taking off.

Five more American Airlines flights are due to leave before 2pm but may be delayed.

Travel correspondent Simon Calder24 December 2024 13:26

American Airlines lifts ground stop after unspecified technical issue

American Airlines has now lifted an hour-long ground stop of all its flights in the US, a notice on the US aviation regulator’s website showed.

The ground stop on Tuesday was due to an unspecified technical issue.

Tara Cobham24 December 2024 13:08

American Airlines grounds all US flights on Christmas Eve

American Airlines has grounded its flights across the US on Christmas Eve amid one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

“A technical issue is affecting American flights this morning,” an airline spokesperson told CNN Tuesday morning. “Our teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”

The airline wrote on X in response to one passenger that it is “currently experiencing a technical issue with all American Airlines flights.

My colleague Amelia Neath reports on this breaking news story:

Tara Cobham24 December 2024 13:00

Part of M40 closed after lorry crash

Part of the M40 has been closed following a crash involving a lorry.

National Highways said the #M40 in Oxfordshire is closed southbound between J8A, near Waterstock, and J6, near Lewknor, to recover an overturned HGV involved in an earlier collision.

Tara Cobham24 December 2024 12:57

Channel Islands cut off by fog

Travellers seeking to fly between the UK and the Channel Islands have faced diversions and cancellations.

Two easyJet flights to Jersey – from London Gatwick and Manchester – flew to the islands, circled in the hope of landing but then returned to their starting points.

British Airways also returned one Gatwick-Jersey flight to its starting point, and cancelled another morning service.

To Guernsey, two Aurigny flights from London diverted in quick succession. One, from Gatwick, headed for Southampton; the other, from London City, landed in Exeter.

Fog is predicted until nightfall.

Travellers seeking to fly between the UK and the Channel Islands have faced diversions and cancellations
Travellers seeking to fly between the UK and the Channel Islands have faced diversions and cancellations (Flightradar24)

Travel correspondent Simon Calder24 December 2024 12:41

Britons enjoying ‘remarkably mild’ Christmas Eve as travellers head home for festive season

Britons are enjoying a “remarkably mild” Christmas Eve as shoppers dash to buy last-minute gifts and travellers head home for the festive season.

Although conditions on Tuesday are expected to be “grey and gloomy”, it will be the warmest day of the week, with highs of up to 15C in north east Wales, according to the Met Office.

This is slightly lower than the warmest Christmas Eve on record – when a high of 15.6C was measured at Gordon Castle in Banff and in Craibstone, Aberdeenshire, in 1931.

The Midlands, north east England and north east Scotland may see some “brighter spells”, but it will be largely cloudy for most of the country, the weather service added.

In an online forecast, Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said: “It’s just going to stay cloudy, a lot of low cloud covering the hills of the west, misty around the coast, drizzle here and there, particularly for north west England, and more especially western Scotland – where the rain will be persistent through the rest of the day with a strengthening south westerly wind.

“But with all of this cloud coming from the Atlantic, it is going to be a remarkably mild Christmas Eve.”

The sunrise over the North Sea to the mouth of the Tyne on Christmas Eve
The sunrise over the North Sea to the mouth of the Tyne on Christmas Eve (Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)

Tara Cobham24 December 2024 12:00

Any other options for getting around the UK on Christmas Day other than car or bus?

If you’re not a hitchhiker, then there are more domestic flights than ever to and from London Heathrow on British Airways for 25 December.

Manchester: four return trips with fares at £184 northbound, £115 southbound.

Newcastle: three return trips, as low as £44 northbound, £125 southbound.

Edinburgh: three return trips, from £141 northbound, £181 southbound.

Glasgow: three return trips, from £143 northbound, £145 southbound.

Travel correspondent Simon Calder24 December 2024 11:30

These are the trains you can board on Christmas Day

Some trains will run in the UK on Christmas Day – but only in the London area, and mostly as brief continuations of Christmas Eve services. They all involve London Liverpool Street, the busiest station in the country, and include:

12.01am: London Liverpool Street via Paddington and Slough to Maidenhead, arriving 12.58am.

12.07am: London Paddington via Liverpool Street to Shenfield in Essex, arriving at 1.03am.

12.07am: Bishops Stortford via Harlow Town to London Liverpool Street, arriving 12.50am.

12.14am: London Paddington via Liverpool Street to Whitechapel, arriving at 12.27am.

12.22am: London Paddington via Liverpool Street to Shenfield, arriving at 1.22am.

12.01am: Goodmayes in Essex via London Liverpool Street to Paddington, arriving at 12.35am.

Some trains will run in the UK on Christmas Day, and they all involve London Liverpool Street, the busiest station in the country
Some trains will run in the UK on Christmas Day, and they all involve London Liverpool Street, the busiest station in the country (Getty)

Travel correspondent Simon Calder24 December 2024 11:00

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