THE Easter holiday is one of the busiest getaways of the year. And with another two bank holidays coming up in May, many people are taking the opportunity of a great escape.

It is anticipated that thousands will have boarded planes, trains and automobiles during the two-week Easter break, causing delays on the roads.

Roadworks are often planned around the roads being quieter while the schools are off, but that is little comfort for those who are heading off on the roads to reach the coast and other popular destinations.

In addition to potential snarl ups en route, new passport checks for travellers leaving Britain have now been introduced - but according to early indications it has so far been a smooth process.

There had been fears that the implementation of exit checks would lead to long queues at ports but the Government's phased introduction of the checks appears to be paying off.

The Home Office has said that exit checks will improve the Government's understanding of who is leaving the UK and create "a much clearer picture of who is staying in the country when they have no right to be here."

The checks are also aimed at helping the police and security services track the movements of known criminals and terrorists.

As well as sea ports, the checks are being introduced at airports - but since airlines will be providing advance passenger information from individuals' travel documents, air passengers will not notice the new system in action.

Tony Hallwood, aviation development and marketing director at Leeds Bradford International Airport, says he doesn't envisage that the new checks will have any impact on travel through the airport.

"We are not seeing any change to our process as a result of the announcements because at the moment all the passengers' data is fed into the airline booking system so we, and the airline, are already collecting the data before they travel," he explains.

Eurotunnel has moved immediately to full 100 per cent checks with the company spending £2.5m on new systems, with road markings altered and 50 new staff taken on.

A Home Office spokesman says: "Due to the different environments and scale of operations at ports, delivery approaches will vary.

"The Home Office has worked with carriers and ports to allow them to introduce exit checks in a way that aligns with their existing systems, including taking a phased approach at some ports to help minimise the impact on customers and on port operations."

An ABTA spokesperson says: “Travel providers have been aware of the changes for some time and it is important that they continue to work closely with the ports to minimise inconvenience to passengers. Coach parties of school children under 16 are exempt from the new requirements. Of course, at certain times of the year when ports are very busy it may take more time to board your ferry or train, but passengers can do their part in speeding up the process by ensuring that they have their passports ready for inspection when they arrive at the relevant port.”

One traveller from Shipley, who wishes to remain anonymous, welcomes the new exit checks. "It is for the good and the safety of the country and I think it is a good thing that we have re-introduced border checks fully rather than waving a coach load of people through and not knowing who is there and who isn't," she said.

Mark Bowers, CEO of Bradford-based Redfern, which provides business travel to a range of private and public sector clients, says: "I think the new checks will have minimum impact in the vast majority of cases."

Tony Mann, director of Idle Travel based in Morrisons at Five Lane Ends, also welcomes the move and advises travellers to be prepared.

"Security is important so that is the key, and as long as they have enough staff to deal with that everybody will be happy. Going through security can be pretty slow so people need to be aware and check-in early," he says.

For many holiday-makers delays are often an expected part of travelling but on reaching their destinations they find it's all been worth it.

According to Tony, Spain and the Canary Islands have topped the list of popular destinations during the Easter break, resulting in one of the travel agent's busiest times of the year.