Traffic on the M11 in Essex was brought to a standstill after two crashes near London Stansted Airport. The incidents occurred between junctions J8 and J9, blocking the motorway in both directions.
Motorists heading to the airport faced queues of five miles southbound and seven miles northbound. National Highways confirmed that emergency services and traffic officers were at the scene, and all lanes had reopened by midday, but warned of very long delays remaining.
One driver commented on social media: 'We're stuck in that traffic and wondered what was happening.' The disruption comes as millions of people take to the roads for the summer holidays, with around 2.7 million journeys planned on what motoring experts have dubbed 'Frantic Friday'.
Other traffic hotspots include the M25 near Heathrow Airport, the M4, and the M5 towards Bristol. A separate incident on the M25 near Buckinghamshire involved a Volkswagen campervan fire, causing further delays.
RAC's Nick Mullender advised drivers to avoid peak times between 10am and 7pm on Friday, and 10am to 5pm on Saturday, to escape the worst congestion. He noted that holiday traffic is expected to be spread across several days this year.
