Easter: Wales travel hold-ups as getaway begins

Holidaymakers have faced some travel delays, with the Easter break under way for some and hardly any Covid rules in Wales.

Saturday was forecast to be the busiest day on the roads with about five million motorists expected to head away for next weekend's Easter break.

Hold-ups were reported at some hot spots, affecting Swansea and Anglesey.

Rail passengers have been advised to plan ahead due to engineering works in the north and south.

Cardiff Airport is expecting to handle 20,000 passengers despite flight cancellations seen elsewhere in the UK.

While the Welsh government stopped advising people against travelling abroad in January, it is the first school break where masks are no longer required in shops and on public transport in Wales.

However people are still being encouraged to take lateral flow tests before socialising, shopping or visiting people and not to go out if positive.

The Welsh government also advised meeting outdoors where possible and to make sure indoor meetings are well ventilated.

More than 20 million vehicles are predicted to hit the UK's roads across the Easter break.

Experts have advised travellers to set off early or postpone long journeys until later in the day to avoid potentially long queues between 10:00 BST and 15:00 over this weekend.

By noon on Saturday, there were hold-ups on the Swansea coast at Black Pill due to "holiday traffic" on Mumbles Road, according to traffic analysts Inrix.

And Traffic Wales reported congestion on the A55 at Britannia Bridge, which links Anglesey with the mainland, as well as near the Welsh-English border on the A494 at Deeside.

Inrix said traffic had returned to normal on Station Road in Brynamman, Carmarthenshire, following a "police incident" .

The M4 west between junctions 23 and 26 at noon is expected to be Wales' busiest stretch of road on Saturday and Sunday.

"Our figures point to a big increase in leisure trips by car this weekend compared to the previous two years," said Rod Dennis of the RAC, adding that it is "certainly" likely because of Wales' limited Covid restrictions now.

He also encouraged travellers to check their cars, after research found just 19% of drivers make sure their vehicles are road ready before travelling at Easter.

While there have been flights cancelled elsewhere across the UK, Cardiff Airport said it had been "gearing up for revival" following the significant impacts Covid has had on travel over the last two years.

"The communities living in Wales that use the airport are indicating they have a high desire to travel again," said aviation development manager Marc Watkins.

"We are expecting this spring and summer to be much busier as a result."

The airport expects to recover 51% of its pre-Covid passenger levels during the 10 days this Easter, after having no flights during that time in 2020, and just 236 passengers in 2021.

This Easter, Wales' major airport expects to handle 157 flights - 79 departing and 78 arriving - between Saturday and 17 April, with Alicante, Malaga and Tenerife among the top holiday destinations.

While the airport expects to be "ready for the strong 20,000 uptick in passengers taking flights again", it warned people to arrive in plenty of time.

Mr Watkins said there was a likelihood that check-in times could be longer than normal in case of "unexpected outbreaks of Covid".

The general message from train providers is to "check before you travel" this Easter, with engineering work taking place on lines in the north and south east.

Disruptions include:

Sailings on Stena Line ferries were suspended on Monday after the operator plugged gaps left in Northern Ireland as a result of the P&O crisis.

Stena Line has cancelled all crossings between Fishguard, Pembrokeshire and Rosslare, Republic of Ireland until 12 April.

But the company assured passengers that sailings on all of its Welsh routes will be back to a full schedule for Easter weekend.

The number of passengers travelling this Easter weekend has risen by 29% compared with 2019, it said. Irish Ferries will be operating a normal 16 sailings a day between Holyhead and Dublin, and Pembroke and Rosslare.

RNLI lifeguards returned to their posts at Wales' most popular beaches on Saturday. These included Swansea's Langland Bay, Caswell and Three Cliffs Bay, as well as Whitesands in Pembrokeshire.

But the charity has urged people who choose to visit Welsh beaches to do so safely as it anticipates some of the highest tides of the year over Easter weekend.

The biggest tides fall on 17 and 18 April and are likely to result in an increased number of people visiting the coast.

Last year's figures showed that the charity's lifeguards assisted 6,834 people on Welsh beaches last summer.

Despite the sunny weather predicted on Saturday and Sunday, it warned that the sea was still "incredibly cold, increasing the risk of water shock".

Chris Cousens, RNLI water safety lead for Wales, said: "The good weather in March saw more people taking to the sea on stand-up paddleboards and we expect to see the same once the schools break.

"We want people to enjoy their Easter and are therefore keen they take heed of important advice to ensure their trip is not memorable for all the wrong reasons."