Millions of people - from the UK and abroad - will be on the move over the next few days to be in position to join in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee bank holiday celebrations.

Heathrow expects to handle 2.9 million passengers in the next two weeks, with 780,000 overseas travellers due to arrive at the west London airport between today and bank holiday Tuesday.

UK travel organisation Abta has forecast that as many six million Britons will be taking a holiday abroad or in the UK over the period June 2-5.

The Highways Agency has suspended roadworks on some English motorways and A roads, although some works will stay in place for safety reasons.

Unlike most weekends, London Underground will be running near normal services over the bank holiday weekend, with only the Waterloo & City line not operating and with part-suspensions on the London Overground line.

Many main line train companies that run services to and from London will be providing additional trains or carriages at times to cope with those visiting the capital for Jubilee events.

The rail industry said the vast majority of passengers travelling over the bank holiday weekend would experience no disruption because of engineering work.

But buses will replace trains on some routes. One service affected is the Stansted Express which takes passengers between Liverpool Street station at Stansted Airport in Essex.

There will be a reduced service on this route from Saturday until bank holiday Tuesday.

At Heathrow, red carpets are being laid in arrivals halls and Jubilee and Union flags will be handed to passengers.

Abta said that around four million planned to holiday in the UK over the weekend, with two million going abroad. Those aged 18-24 years old were most likely to take trips.

The Highways Agency said around 275 miles of roadworks would be completed before the weekend and a further 43 miles of works would be lifted from 6am on Friday to midnight on Tuesday.

Among works still in place will be those on the M1 between junctions 10 and 13 in the Luton area of Bedfordshire.

The AA and Traffic information company Trafficmaster said the main getaway was likely to be on Friday afternoon and on Saturday.

Busy spots were likely to include the A303 from the M3 through Hampshire, Wiltshire and Somerset; the M5 in the West Country and the M6 through Staffordshire and Cheshire into Lancashire.

An AA/Populus survey of nearly 19,000 AA members showed that 47% were likely to drive on a holiday or an outing this weekend. This compared with a figure of 54% for last Easter.

AA patrolman of the year Andy Smith said: "Our research shows that many people will be staying closer to home to celebrate the Jubilee, so most traffic congestion is going to be quite localised.

"However, the main 'getaway' routes will still be very busy this Friday and Saturday, so if you are heading off, allow extra time for your journey or avoid the peak period."

The survey also showed that 14% said a road near them was being closed for a street party or a similar Jubilee event.

Among Londoners, this figure rose to 20%, but only 3% of Scots said there would be road closures in their area.