Million take flight for the big getaway

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Passengers are warned to expect terminals to be even more crowded than usual, with more than 420,000 flying out of Heathrow, about 325,000 leaving Gatwick and 160,000 using Stansted.

Top destinations are New York, Dublin and Paris from Heathrow; Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and Dalaman in Turkey from Gatwick and Dublin, Rome and Alicante from Stansted.

With most London state schools breaking up this week, the peak day is expected to be tomorrow, with an estimated 107,500 departures from Heathrow, 65,300 from Gatwick and 40,500 from Stansted.

But for holidaymakers staying in Britain, the roads are not expected to be as bad as at Easter and Christmas.

Traffic on main roads out of London will be about 10 per cent up on normal, according to the AA.

"It will not be as bad as it sometimes can be," said spokesman Luke Bosdet.

"The worst times, however, will be on Friday evening and Saturday morning as people head out of London on holiday.

"The biggest shock for drivers who have been used to filling up their tank just once a fortnight or so will be the sheer cost of fuel on a long journey." Routes likely to be worst-hit this weekend include the M25 - especially western sections - the M4, A3, M3 and A303 to the west and southwest.

Other roads that will carry heavier than usual traffic include the M23 to the south, the M20, M2 and A2 to the south-east and the M11 and M1 to the north. The M40 to the Midlands could also be busier than usual.

It is a bleaker picture on the railways, with the prospect of major delays for holidaymakers.

Transport bosses say the summer is the best time to close sections of the network because that is when many people are on holiday.

A spokesman for Network Rail, which is responsible for maintenance, said: "We have chosen times and dates carefully for our engineering work, which must be done to make essential improvements.

"We apologise to passengers for inconvenience they may suffer but our work will result in an improved service for the future."