Millions of Brits hit the roads and airports: the Easter getaway continues

An estimated two million Britons are hitting the airports this Easter, while millions more are taking to the roads, inspired by the promise of warm sunshine over the holiday period.

The Highways Agency has suspended roadworks on a number of sites, and the fire-hit section of the M1 in London has reopened - but Brits are still having to contend with congested roads and some disrupted rail services.

However, those staying at home were being promised warm sunshine over the holiday weekend - which is more than can be said for anyone jetting off to Europe, where in some places temperatures are barely hitting 16C.

Rain has hit many popular sunshine resorts, and Malaga in southern Spain and the Greek Island of Corfu only likely to reach around 17C (63F) and Barcelona only getting up to 16C (61F).

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Network Rail said there would be some engineering work on the railways over Easter but that 18 per cent more trains were running this holiday compared with last Easter.

Disrupted services due to engineering include those using the West Coast line in north west England, services in and out of London's Liverpool Street station and trains on the Great Western line.

Travel organisation Abta said the most popular destination for those travelling abroad this Easter was Spain, with the top city destinations being Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam, Rome and New York.

Visa Europe said that the 'Wills and Kate effect' had caused a 104 per cent year-on-year rise in flight bookings heading out of the UK in the two days preceding the royal wedding, while in-bound trips to the UK have increased 244 per cent.

The company said it had already processed more than 26,000 flight bookings for Britons planning to fly on April 27 and 28, with the most popular destinations being Amsterdam, Malaga, Dublin and the Spanish area of Alicante.

VisitEngland said that 26 per cent of UK adults were planning to take a trip involving at least one overnight stay in the UK over the double bank holiday period.

National Express said its busiest day for coach travel over the period of the two bank holidays was Easter Monday.

On the day of the royal wedding, the company is providing London-bound coaches from 67 towns and cities, with Southampton, Stansted Airport in Essex, and Bournemouth the most-popular starting points for journeys.

The RAC said drivers taking to the roads this Easter were paying, on average, 16 per cent more for petrol and 20 per cent more for diesel than a year ago.