The great Christmas getaway peaked this afternoon as millions of Britons headed home on ‘Frantic Friday’ amid traffic gridlock, packed airports and rail chaos.

The AA expects 24.4million cars to be on the UK’s roads today, while the country’s airports are facing their busiest Christmas travel period on record.

Train passengers were warned of delays across the Northern network due to a driver shortage; a burst water main blocked Greater Anglia services through Rye House in Hertfordshire; and the Bakerloo and Northern lines in London both had delays.

Locations at risk of traffic jams today include the M25 near London Heathrow Airport and at Bluewater in Kent; the M60 near the Trafford Centre; the M5/M6 interchange near Birmingham; the M4/M5 interchange near Bristol; and the M8 in Scotland.

Analysis from transport analytics experts Inrix produced in association with the AC suggests there will be lengthy delays at peak times on what it called ‘Frantic Friday’.

Drivers who are leaving major cities for the Christmas break and sharing the roads with people finishing the working week, increasing the chances of gridlock.

Queues of more than 30 minutes are expected from 4.30pm on the M25 clockwise from J15 (M4) to J19 Watford and anticlockwise from Kingston to East Grinstead.

Delays are also expected in Manchester on the M60 clockwise from J7 Altrincham to J18 for the M62 for Leeds. In Wales, there will be long delays towards the Prince of Wales Bridge, along the M4 eastbound from Newport and the Brynglas Tunnels.

Plane passengers go through the ticket gates at Stansted Airport railway station in Essex today

Passengers disembark a train at London King’s Cross station today as the getaway begins

Christmas getaway traffic builds up northbound on the M25  near West Byfleet in Surrey today

Christmas getaway traffic on the A282 Dartford Crossing between Kent and Essex this morning

Traffic in the run-up to Christmas is expected to peak between 3pm and 7pm today, with the AA predicting this year will see the busiest Christmas getaway on record, continuing an upwards trend since the relaxing of coronavirus travel restrictions.

Adding to the challenge will be the closure of the M27 motorway in both directions between Junctions 9 and 11 from 8pm on Christmas Eve until 4am on January 4 for major works, affecting journeys between Southampton and Portsmouth.

A survey of more than 10,000 AA members suggested most drivers will stay local today.

Nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of respondents said they will embark on a car journey of up to 50 miles.

Only 5 per cent said they would drive for 51 to 100 miles, and 2 per cent plan to exceed 100 miles.

The poll also suggested that visiting family and friends is the main reason for car travel in the festive period, followed by shopping and work.

The AA said the results indicate there will likely be congestion around retail hotspots and motorway interchanges.

Meanwhile, mapping and location technology company TomTom issued a warning over ‘severe’ traffic tomorrow, when many people will embark on last-minute shopping trips or getaways to loved ones.

Its analysis of the Saturday before Christmas Day last year found Edinburgh was the UK’s most congested city, with journeys taking an average of 50.1 per cent longer compared with free-flowing traffic.

The Scottish capital had a sustained period of jams between noon and 4pm.

London was the second most congested city, with journeys of 10km (6.2 miles) taking more than 40 minutes in the early evening.

Manchester was in third place, followed by Birmingham and Sheffield.

Passengers wait for trains at London Euston station today as the Christmas getaway begins

TomTom traffic expert Andy Marchant said: ‘This year’s super Saturday is set to spark a surge in traffic across the UK, as last-minute shoppers and festive travellers hit the roads.

‘Last year, our data showed Edinburgh’s congestion peaking at 76 per cent around midday. In London, the evening rush was particularly severe.

‘Drivers should expect the busiest periods between midday and early evening, as shopping trips, social plans and the Christmas getaway all converge.

‘Our advice is to plan ahead, allow extra time for your journey and keep an eye on real-time traffic updates to avoid the worst of the festive gridlock.’

The RAC forecast that a total of 37.5million leisure trips by car are planned between Wednesday of this week and Christmas Eve.

That is the most in the week before Christmas Day since the company began recording the data in 2013.

Christmas Eve is expected to be the busiest day for leisure trips over the festive period, with 4.2 million of those journeys.

National Highways said it will lift more than 90 per cent of roadworks on its network of motorways and major A roads in England between 6am on Sunday and the early hours of January 2.

A spokesperson for the Government-owned company said: ‘Some work will still need to continue but our teams will be working around the clock to keep the country moving.’

Christmas train passengers walk through London Waterloo railway station this morning

UK airports are also expecting their busiest Christmas getaway in history.

Travel trade organisation Abta estimated that more than five million people from the UK will travel abroad between Friday and January 4.

Holiday companies are reporting strong sales for winter sun destinations such as mainland Spain, the Canary Islands, Portugal and Turkey.

Christmas market breaks in Tallin, Estonia; Gdansk, Poland; Vienna, Austria; and Cologne, Germany are also proving popular.

The Civil Aviation Authority said passenger numbers for December are forecast to exceed the record 22million seen last year.

Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, is preparing for more than seven million passengers to travel through its four terminals this month.

The Port of Dover estimates nearly 30,000 cars will embark on outbound sailings during the festive period, with traffic peaking between 6am and 1pm from Friday to Sunday.

Engineering work by Network Rail will lead to more pressure on the roads – particularly following Christmas Day – with several of the UK’s busiest railway lines disrupted.

Projects on multiple sections of the West Coast Main Line will affect journeys to and from London Euston from December 27 to January 4, as well as journeys between Scotland and north-west England from New Year’s Day to January 14.

Elsewhere on the network, there will be no trains between Leeds and York between Christmas Day and January 2.

No services will run between Cambridge North, Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds and Stansted Airport between Christmas Day and January 5.

London Waterloo, one of the UK’s busiest stations, will be closed to trains between Christmas Day and December 28, and will have a reduced timetable between December 29 and January 4.

In Scotland, there will be no trains between Dalmuir and Balloch/Helensburgh Central, or between Glasgow Queen Street and Crianlarich, between Christmas Eve and January 2.

Some 95 per cent of Britain’s railways will be unaffected by engineering work, Network Rail said. But, as usual, the entire network will shut down on Christmas Day.

Most operators will also run no trains on Boxing Day but a handful will have a very limited timetable.