If you're travelling to the airport this Christmas there are some roadworks remaining in place that could lead to traffic congestion.

The Highways Agency says that roadworks will remain at 28 locations around England for the safety of drivers and passengers. Some of the major roadworks are on key routes to the UK's major airports, so drivers are advised to leave plenty of extra time to travel to the airport.

Drivers heading to the some of the UK's busiest airports, Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, are advised to avoid the M25 between junctions 26 and 27 near Epping. A 50mph speed restriction is in place and the hard shoulder has been closed due to the Bell Common Tunnel refurbishment. Slight delays are expected but these could become severe at peak periods.

Drivers travelling to Heathrow should take note of the roadworks on the M4 between junctions 5 and 7 near Slough. A 50mph speed limit is in place due to bridge upgrades and open excavations. Again delays are expected to be slight but there may be traffic jams at busy times.

The approaches to Birmingham airport could be congested too thanks to roadworks on the M40, M6 and M42. On the M40 there are still roadworks in place at junction 15 near Warwick and junction 16 to the M42 junction 3A near Solihull. The M42 also has roadworks between junction 7 and 9 near Coleshill. On the M6 there are roadworks between junctions 5 and 4, and junctions 10a to 12 northbound.

If you're heading to East Midlands airport watch out for the roadworks on the M1 between junctions 25 and 28 near Nottingham and Derby. There are narrow lanes in both directions with speed restrictions of 50 mph in place.

In the North West, roadworks that may affect people travelling to Manchester airport include the M60 junction 5 clockwise and anticlockwise at the A5103 Princess Parkway near Wythenshawe, and the A550 and A5117 at Deeside Park near Chester.

For travellers heading to Bristol airport there are roadworks on the M5 between junctions 11 and 11a near Cheltenham and Gloucester.

Airports set for Christmas getaway, the busiest days at UK airports this Christmas.

Over the Christmas and New Year period more than two million people will leave the country from BAA airports. The busiest airport will be Heathrow with an anticipated 1.1 million people, followed by Gatwick with 500,000, Stansted 250,000, Glasgow 200,000, Edinburgh 105,000, Aberdeen 44,500 and Southampton 24,000.

From non-BAA airports, 290,000 are expected to fly out from Manchester airport, 250,000 from Luton airport and 28,000 from Leeds Bradford airport. The ferries and trains will also be busy with over 200,000 travelling away over or under the English Channel, and another 210,00 leaving on Eurostar.

Airports issue advice for Christmas travel. Allow plenty of time to travel to the airport.

Airports including Luton and Stansted are giving advice for people travelling over the busy Christmas period.

As usual, the main message is to allow plenty of time to travel to the airport. Luton airport says: “Particular attention should be given to public transport services as there are some restrictions to regular timetables over the holiday period; 25th December there are no train or bus services operating to or from the airport”.

Luton airport is advising passengers who plan to travel with Christmas crackers to consult their airline before arriving at the airport. The airport is also reminding passengers not to travel with wrapped presents in hand luggage as it may be necessary for presents to be opened at airport security.

At Stansted airport, terminal manager says: “We want everyone using the terminal this Christmas to have a stress free and enjoyable journey through the airport so it’s important that our passengers follow some simple tips before leaving home to help them on their way”.

Airline offers guide to best ski resorts.

Low cost airline easyJet has compiled a guide to the best ski resorts as skiing and snowboarding holidays are boosted by great early season snow.

Many European ski resorts have opened early this year thanks to the best early season conditions for years. Now easyJet has produced a guide to the top resorts for snow fall this season, based on the latest snow reports from the Ski Club of Great Britain.

The budget airline also now offers an interactive ski map on its website, showing the best airports to fly to for all the major resorts, along with transfer times and prices.

Based on snow fall and facilities, the best ski resorts for Christmas are said to be Alpbach and Lech-Zurs, both in Austria. Snow in Lech-Zurs is currently rated as ‘excellent’ and the resort has lots of seasonal events, including Christmas markets and a nativity play. Alpbach is described as “a chocolate-box collection of houses, wooden lodges and churches” which provide the perfect backdrop for a fairytale Christmas.

Airline bmi is to trial an inflight communications service on flights between Heathrow and Moscow.

bmi, the second biggest airline at Heathrow, says it is the first British airline to offer passengers the opportunity to use SMS-enabled mobile phones and PDAs during their flight. Passengers with laptop computers fitted with GSM data cards will also be able to access the internet and email.

The six month trial will be confined to a single Airbus A320 aircraft flying between Heathrow and Moscow. The UK launch of the inflight communications service follows the granting of telecommunications regulatory approval by Ofcom.

The communications technology is being supplied by OnAir and uses the latest satellite communications from Inmarsat, Swift Broadband, for high speed air-to-ground communications.