A31 overnight closures: airport transfers to 12 September

The A31 overnight closures start tonight. National Highways is shutting the road both ways between Ringwood / Ashley Heath and M27 Junction 2 on weekday nights, 9pm to 6am. Their scheme runs Tuesday 1 September to Friday 11 September. The Bournemouth Echo reports the same weekday window through 12 September, on a 27-mile stretch, for barrier and fence repairs after the New Forest wildfire. Weekends stay open.

After each night the road reopens with limits: 40mph eastbound (the Echo says because the central reservation barrier was damaged in the blaze) and 50mph westbound, until the works finish around 12 September.

That overnight window is the one that matters for airport runs from Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch. Early outbound transfers toward Southampton, Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted normally join the A31 well before 6am. If your pickup falls in those hours, we are leaving a bit earlier and routing via the A338 diversion while the A31 is closed overnight for post-wildfire repairs. You will still make your flight.

How we plan airport runs around roadworks

When there are closures on the A31 between Ringwood and the M27, we check the published dates and diversion before each early or late pickup and set the pickup time to allow for it. You do not need to work out the diversion yourself; just make sure we have your flight time.

• Early flights: if your pickup falls inside a closure window, we may collect you a little earlier.
• Late arrivals: for flights landing late in the evening, we plan the drive home around any overnight closures.
• Check current roadworks: live information for Dorset roads is published by the council and National Highways, and the dates in news reports can change.

Our guide to early-morning airport runs from Dorset has more tips for dawn flights.

If you have a pre-6am pickup through 12 September, Book now and we will time the run around the closures.