Travellers on “Frantic Friday” have suffered long delays and cancellations across the UK as millions head away for the Christmas break.

Bristol airport runway was closed after a plane came off the runway on Friday morning, leading to as many as 50 flight cancellations and leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

Motorists were stuck in long tailbacks on the M40 near Bicester after an Eddie Stobart lorry carrying beer caught fire about 11.30am. No one was hurt, but Highways England said traffic stretched back more than 11 miles after the incident.

Guard shortages on South Western Railway led to more than 30 train cancellations, causing disruption to rush hour services between Waterloo and the south-west of England.

The Met Office urged drivers to take care on the roads amid murky conditions in the north of England and Scotland during rush hour.

More drivers take to the road on Friday than any other day over the Christmas season, according to an AA poll.

The combination of the last rush hour before Christmas, last-minute shoppers and online shopping deliveries, as well as millions of people driving for festive visits to family and friends, was expected to clog roads and slow journeys on Friday evening.

Traffic volume increased around Manchester, Birmingham, Oxford, Colchester, Maidstone and Rochester on early Friday afternoon, according to the RAC. Simon Williams, traffic spokesman at the drivers’ organisation, said he expected about 15% more breakdowns than usual.

Inrix has predicted delays on the roads throughout the Christmas holiday, warning of significant delays on Wednesday 27 December as shoppers turn out for the post-Christmas sales and people return from visiting family. Some stretches of motorway could see delays of up to three hours, with particularly high volumes expected around the M25, according to its forecasts.

Vince Crane, the AA’s patrol of the year, said: “With Christmas falling on a Monday, many drivers may hope that journeys would be spread across the weekend – but it means more days of traffic as the getaway from work on Friday is followed by the last major shopping opportunity on Saturday and visits to friends and family on Sunday.

“Check the traffic reports before you leave and try to travel when it’s quieter or, if you have no choice, consider an alternative route to beat the jams.

“Anything can happen, so don’t forget to do the basic checks on your car before heading off to avoid a breakdown interrupting your Christmas plans. This includes topping up the windscreen wash and antifreeze, checking your lights and adjusting tyre pressures for a full load if necessary.”

Airports, ports and international train stations are exceptionally busy, with more than 4.5 million people heading abroad over Christmas and the new year.

At Bristol airport, 25 people were on board the Embraer 145 jet when it came off the runway at 11.36am while it was taxiing after landing from Frankfurt, Germany. An airport spokeswoman said there were no injuries and the plane was towed to an aircraft stand.

An airport spokesman said: “While it is too early to speculate about the cause of the incident, we are confident that it was not related to the low visibility conditions experienced.

“Additional staff are on hand in the terminal to assist passengers. We’re sorry for the disruption and flight cancellations experienced and fully appreciate it is frustrating.”

More than 190,000 people are due to travel through Bristol airport between Friday and 1 January, up 5% on the same two-week period 12 months ago.

Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, will see almost 130,000 departing passengers on Friday.

On the rail network, many mainline routes will be partially shut as Network Rail carries out its biggest Christmas engineering programme.

Great Western Railway is urging passengers to complete journeys by Saturday “at the latest” as London Paddington will be closed between Christmas Eve and 27 December.

The west coast main line will be halted between Preston and Lancaster from Christmas Eve to 27 December, with buses replacing trains. Passengers travelling between London and Glasgow are advised to go via Edinburgh, adding about an hour to journeys.

The coach operator National Express is running its largest Christmas schedule to meet increased demand from key locations such as Bournemouth, Cardiff, Leeds, Edinburgh, Portsmouth, Bristol, Glasgow and Manchester.