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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Christmas holiday getaway to start | Christmas holiday getaway to start |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to use the UK's transport networks on Friday as schools break up and the Christmas holiday getaway begins. | Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to use the UK's transport networks on Friday as schools break up and the Christmas holiday getaway begins. |
| Heathrow Airport is expecting 116,000 departures, while the AA predicts 10 million cars will be on the roads. | Heathrow Airport is expecting 116,000 departures, while the AA predicts 10 million cars will be on the roads. |
| The busiest days for getting around by road, rail and air will be Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 of December, according to travel association ABTA. | The busiest days for getting around by road, rail and air will be Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 of December, according to travel association ABTA. |
| Some roadworks will be suspended. | Some roadworks will be suspended. |
| The Highways Agency said almost 400 miles of roadworks would either be completed by, or suspended for, the festive break by 0600 GMT on 23 December. | The Highways Agency said almost 400 miles of roadworks would either be completed by, or suspended for, the festive break by 0600 GMT on 23 December. |
| Signalling problems | |
| AA president Edmund King said the Christmas getaway would begin "with a particularly busy start". | AA president Edmund King said the Christmas getaway would begin "with a particularly busy start". |
| He added: "This is because most schools break up today, Christmas shopping gets going in earnest and consumers have more money in their pocket because of low pump prices." | He added: "This is because most schools break up today, Christmas shopping gets going in earnest and consumers have more money in their pocket because of low pump prices." |
| Travel expert Simon Calder said things were "going smoothly" so far, adding that about 400,000 passengers would be flying out from UK airports to various destinations on Friday. | |
| "It seems as though collectively we've decided we're all going to go on holiday," he said. | |
| Other updates include: | Other updates include: |
| The Christmas getaway could also be disrupted by strike action set to take place by members of the Unite union. | The Christmas getaway could also be disrupted by strike action set to take place by members of the Unite union. |
| A dispute over pay means that some airport staff - including baggage handlers - are set to strike on 23 December for two days at Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports. |