The slow road to summer! 2.7million drivers hit the roads on Frantic Friday as families head on holidays with hour-long queues at Dover, Heathrow terminal evacuated and chaos on trains

Britain’s big summer getaway turned into chaos on ‘Frantic Friday’ today as an airport terminal was evacuated, a major motorway was blocked and trains were cancelled.

Some 2.7million leisure journeys were being made on the roads today, according to RAC estimates – with motorists warned to avoid heading out before 7pm tonight.

Many families were on the move after the schools broke up for summer, but there was disruption for those travelling to London Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports.

Areas of Heathrow’s Terminal 3 were evacuated this morning while a fire alarm was investigated, which passengers said had caused huge queues at passport control.

In Essex, drivers on the M11 were warned of seven-mile queues after it was blocked in both directions near Stansted after two crashes between junctions eight and nine.

Those heading to Gatwick were hit by train chaos after a points failure at Haywards Heath impacted services operated by Gatwick Express, Southern and Thameslink.

Other disrupted rail services included LNER between Retford and Newark after a train hit an obstruction on the track; and the Mildmay line in London due to defective track.

Great Western Railway trains between Castle Cary and Westbury were affected by a points failure; while four Hull Trains services were cancelled due to Aslef strike action.

At Heathrow today, passengers complained of queues after a fire alarm at Terminal 3 just after 11am led to a temporary evacuation being carried out for safety reasons. 

Arriving passenger Christina Warren tweeted: ‘Landed at Heathrow an hour early but there was a fire alarm so the line for passport control is literally backed up literally the entire terminal because of a fire alarm going off.’

Natalie Berg, who tweeted a photo of the queues, said on X: ‘Nearly two hours and line has barely moved at Heathrow. Just been told immigration and baggage reclaim has now reopened so hopefully on the move soon.’

And another passenger in the terminal wrote: ‘Fire crews investigating incident in baggage hall at Heathrow T3 mean security birder is currently closed. Very long queue already.’

A Heathrow spokeswoman told MailOnline: ‘Following an earlier fire alarm evacuation in parts of Terminal 3, the incident has now been stood down. We apologise for any disruption caused to journeys.’

Passengers were later allowed into the baggage reclaim hall to collect their bags and get on their way.

Meanwhile drivers in Kent were at a standstill as they queued to use the Port of Dover after holidaymakers and freight lorries descended in large numbers.

The vehicles were moving very slowly through Dover from the A20, and down Jubilee Way towards the port.

An update from Port of Dover said the traffic into the port was causing delays of around an hour.

A traffic control system was in place, and one traffic warden told an eyewitness that they had received a lot of verbal abuse from drivers.

Doug Bannister, chief executive at the Port of Dover said his organisation has been ‘preparing for a busy summer’ and have brought in measures to ‘minimise disruption’.

He said: ‘We know how vital it is to keep things moving, not just for holidaymakers but for our local community too.

‘That’s why we’ve boosted staff levels, strengthened traffic management, added welfare facilities and introduced AI-powered forecasting – all to minimise disruption and ensure both residents and travellers have the best possible experience during this busy season.’

The Port of Dover said it was expecting nearly 40,000 cars this weekend and more than 270,000 in the next six weeks.

The RAC revealed on Monday that a larger number of drivers than ever before were expected to head off on holiday at some point this week, rather than wait until the weekend to get away.

But the first getaway weekend will also be busy with 2.7million journeys planned on ‘Frantic Friday’ today.

Following this there will be a ‘Saturday Scramble’ tomorrow as the largest number of journeys on a single day – 3million – is set to take place.

An extra 2.7million trips are expected on Sunday, and 4.6million more at some point over the weekend, bringing the total number of journeys this week to 26.9million.

The M40 northbound between J12 for Gaydon in Warwickshire and the M42 exit at J3A in the West Midlands could see major delays.

Queues are also likely on the M1 northbound from J12 to J16 in Northamptonshire; and on the M4 westbound from J22 for the Pilning Interchange near Severn Beach across the Prince of Wales Bridge to J26 for Newport.

The M1 northbound from J22 near Leicester to J26 for Nottingham, near the Peak District, could face 40-minute delays.

Queues of 50 minutes along the M25 anticlockwise from J4 for Sevenoaks to the Dartford Crossing are also likely.

The RAC and Inrix are jointly urging those setting off at the weekend to travel as early or late as possible – with traffic set to be at its worst through the middle of the day.

Anyone going away today or on Sunday was encouraged to try to start their trips before 10am or after 7pm, while Saturday drivers were told to consider heading out before 10am.

RAC mobile servicing and repairs team leader Nick Mullender said tomorrow is expected be the ‘single busiest day for summer traffic with many drivers travelling long distances to get to their holiday destination’.