The longest Christmas break for 16 years begins in earnest today as the recession forces tens of thousands of workers to take a holiday lasting up to a month.

Many will not return to work until January 19 after their employers shut down for an extended break. Thousands of workers at car companies such as Ford, Aston Martin and Vauxhall have already been sent home after their plants were temporarily closed to save money.

The Federation of Small Businesses told The Times that “more members than ever” were closing for at least a fortnight, between December 22 and January 5.

“We estimate that around half a million small businesses will close during this period because of the financial situation, many for longer periods,” said Stephen Alambritis, a federation official. “It’s the longest break taken by our members since 1992, if not before.”

For those heading to airports and on to the road and rail networks, the extended break will be welcomed with congestion expected to be much lower than in previous years as holiday-makers stagger their journeys over a longer period. As Christmas Day falls on a Thursday this year, people also have the option of travelling early next week as well as over the weekend.

The deepening economic gloom will also alleviate traffic with thousands expected to stay at home to save money. One fifth of those who travelled by car last Christmas said they would stay put this year, an AA survey found. For the 18 million drivers who motoring organisations predict will take to the roads this weekend, the prospect is of 58 sets of roadworks across the country, including on the busy stretch of the M1 through Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire and on the M6 near Birmingham. The AA said that it expects possible delays on the M1, A1, M6, M23 and M42, adding that Monday is expected to be the busiest day for drivers.

Train travellers — some 22 million rail journeys are forecast for this weekend — are likely to face fewer problems than last Christmas when engineering work on the West Coast Main Line caused havoc to journeys. The Association of Train Operating Companies said that delays this Christmas are expected to be minimal. “Overall, engineering work is much, much less than last year and therefore fewer people will be disrupted,” an official said.

“Passenger numbers are slightly up but demand between Christmas and new year will be very low.”

About 1.3 million Britons are leaving the country this weekend, with more than 600,000 flying out from Heathrow. Passenger numbers at Heathrow will spike this weekend but the busiest day for all airports over the Christmas period is likely to be December 27, the Association of British Travel Agents said. Some 400,000 travellers will fly then, mainly to Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, Dublin, Athens and New York.

Abta, the travel agency association, said that more than two million Britons would fly out before Christmas, with 1.1 million leaving from Heathrow, 500,000 from Gatwick, 250,000 from Stansted and 200,000 from Glasgow. About 290,000 will fly from Manchester, 250,000 from Luton and 28,000 from Leeds Bradford.

Eurostar will be handling more than 420,000 passengers from tomorrow until January 5.

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