Thousands on the move as big rush begins
Today is likely to prove one of the busiest days on the nation’s roads with traffic delays forecast on major national routes and in towns and cities as people get in some last minute Christmas shopping before travelling home.
Extra bus and rail services are being laid on this weekend to cater for the large number of people on the move over Christmas.
Hundreds of people travelling to Ireland from British airports faced serious delays yesterday as a large number of flights were disrupted by dense fog which covered large parts of Britain for a third day in a row.
There was also some disruption to flights on mainland Europe due to extensive fog in many parts of the continent.
Irish airports were operating as normal, although there were some delays to flights from Britain. Poor visibility at Heathrow Airport led to more than 300 flights being cancelled which disrupted the travel plans for 40,000 people.
Aer Lingus said intending passengers on its flights to and from England would reach their destination.
Ryanair cancelled 18 flights out of British airports including two flights from Bristol to Dublin because of heavy fog.
British air traffic control operators at London Stansted airport reduced the number of landings by 63% for safety reasons.
Ryanair warned that more bad weather, especially dense freezing fog, was forecast at some European airports used by the airline for the remainder of Christmas week.
Over one million passengers are expected to travel through Dublin Airport over the Christmas holidays.
A spokesperson said the number of people using Dublin Airport was up 10% over the same period last year.
Yesterday was the busiest day of 2006 at the airport as 83,000 people passed through the main terminal. More than 250 charter flights have been added to the schedule over Christmas for people heading off to sun and ski destinations.
An estimated 48,000 passengers are scheduled to fly in and out of Cork Airport this week.
Air travellers were also urged to familiarise themselves with the new EU aviation security regulations on the carrying of liquids before going to the airport in order to keep security searches to a minimum.
They were also advised not to wrap Christmas presents before travelling by air as they may be required to open them by airport security officials.
Meanwhile, ferry companies have reported a noticeable increase in late bookings as some air travellers decided to make alternative arrangements to get back to Ireland.
Irish Ferries said there had been an upsurge in bookings from people who were concerned that their flight plans might be disrupted.
The company said it expected its scheduled services on its Dublin-Holyhead and Rosslare-Pembroke routes to operate as normal up to tomorrow.
Stena Line said it has also experienced a very busy Christmas booking period with many of its sailings already at full capacity.
It urged anyone wanting to make reservations on its ferry crossings to book as early as possible.
Stena Line expects to carry in excess of 120,000 passengers and 33,000 vehicles on its five routes between Ireland and Britain.
