If you had planned to jet off today to catch the end of the Easter school break , you may just wish you had stayed at home . In a double hit for thousands of holidaymakers trying to leave Britain today , strikes by French air traffic controllers and new border control checks threaten severe delays . Air passengers face up to three days of disruption , with British Airways , easyJet , Ryanair and Flybe among the airlines forced to cancel dozens of flights . Scroll down for video . Delays : easyJet is one of many airlines set to cancel flights over a strike by French air traffic controllers over the next three days ( file photo ) Chaos : New passport regulations could cause queues on roads leading to Dover and Folkestone ( file photo ) And those travelling abroad by ferry or Eurotunnel face queues as exit checks are introduced at Britain ’ s ports . The change , which takes effect from today , means every passenger in a car or coach will have their passport scanned . The walkout by France ’ s biggest air traffic controllers ’ union SNCTA will begin at 5am today and run until 5am on Friday – with vast knock-on disruption expected . Last night , easyJet , which flies to more than a dozen French cities , said it was cancelling 118 flights , including ten directly affecting the UK . BA warned of ‘ significant disruption ’ and apologised for the cancellation of around a dozen return flights from Britain . Flybe said it was cancelling 16 of today ’ s flights including services to Paris from Manchester , Birmingham and Exeter as well as some flights from Southampton . Crush : Passengers travelling on the Channel Tunnel or on cross-Channel ferries are likely to see the worst of the disruption ( file photo ) Ryanair said it was cancelling 250 of today ’ s flights , with more likely , branding the strike ‘ grossly unfair ’ . Nearly a third involve the UK , although many are destinations outside of France hit by the knock-on effect . A Ryanair spokesman said all affected customers have been contacted by email and text message and advised of their options – full refund , free transfer on to the next available flight or free transfer on to an alternatively routed flight . The Civil Aviation Authority said passengers affected by the strike would not receive compensation because industrial action is classed as an ‘ unforeseen circumstance ’ outside the control of airlines . But they will be entitled to food , drink and , if necessary , hotel accommodation . In response to dire warnings that the introduction of border control checks would cause chaos , ministers have tried to lessen the impact by phasing the new rules in . For the first month , all passports will be scanned but only a quarter of passport holders will have to have their details verified . By June , this will rise to 100 per cent . Forget Rome or Athens , the best place to bask in spring sunshine this week will be Britain . The glorious weather is set to stretch out for the rest of the week – with hotter temperatures here than in many Mediterranean destinations . The mercury is set to rise steadily until Friday , when southern parts of England are forecast to hit 21C ( 70F ) or higher , which would be the hottest temperature here so far this year . Rome and Athens are only expected to reach 16C ( 61F ) , while Marseille is set to stall at 18C ( 65F ) . But make the most of it when you can as last week ’ s cooler weather is predicted to return on Sunday . Dan Williams , spokesman for the Met Office , said : ‘ We are looking at high temperatures until the weekend . It will be cooler and breezier over the weekend with some rain . That will make way for more unsettled weather into next week . ’
Strikes by French air traffic controllers will affect thousands of Brits today . New border control checks may also mean major delays for holidaymakers . BA , easyJet , Flybe and Ryanair among airlines forced to cancel flights . Three days of disruption start today at 5am and end on Friday morning .