Petrol and diesel vehicle owners are being warned of potential issues at filling stations over the Christmas and New Year’s period as supermarkets and major retailers amend their opening times.
In between seeing friends and families, millions of drivers up and down the country will be looking to top up with petrol or diesel, although they could be met with issues with different opening times.
To help motorists prepare for the upcoming festive period, GB News has rounded up the opening times for the most popular petrol stations between Christmas and New Year’s.
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There are over 600 Tesco petrol stations across the UK
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Tesco
Opening times for Tesco stores over the holidays
- Tuesday, December 24 (Christmas Eve) – Extras and Superstores close at 7pm. Express stores will all be closed by 10pm and some may close at 7pm
- Wednesday, December 25 (Christmas Day) – All stores and petrol stations closed
- Thursday, December 26 (Boxing Day) – Extras and Superstores open between 9am and 6pm. Most Express stores open from 9am to 7pm, while some larger stores will close at 6pm
- Friday, December 26 to Monday, December 30 – Normal opening hours (some local variations)
- Tuesday, December 31 (New Year’s Eve) – Extras and Superstores close at 7pm. Most Express stores close at 10pm, although some larger stores will close at 7pm
- Wednesday, January 1 (New Year’s Day) – Extras and Superstores (England, Wales, NI) are open from 8am to 6pm, or 11am to 6pm (Scotland). Most Express stores will open from 8am to 10pm
- Hogmanay in Scotland – Extras and Superstores will open between 8am and 7pm with Express stores trading 8am to 8pm
Britons heading to their local Tesco store are advised to check the store locator website as opening hours may change. This will also contain guidance for petrol stations.
Drivers will be able to use pay-at-the-pump facilities
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Asda
The following opening times apply to most of Asda stores over the Christmas and New Year period
- Monday, December 23 – Normal opening hours
- Tuesday, December 24 (Christmas Eve) – 10am to 7pm
- Wednesday, December 25(Christmas Day) – CLOSED
- Thursday, December 26 (Boxing Day) – 9am to 6pm
- Friday, December 26 to Monday, December 30 – Normal opening hours
- Tuesday, December 31 (New Year’s Eve) – 7am to 7pm
- Wednesday, January 1 (New Year’s Day) – 9am to 6pm
- Thursday, January 2 – Normal opening hours or 8am to 10pm in Scotland
All Asda petrol stations have a pay-at-the-pump service, meaning customers will be able to fill up when they want over the Christmas period.
Usual opening times will vary depending on the store, with customers encouraged to check the store locator tool on the Asda website.
Morrisons confirmed the sale of its petrol stations to MFG earlier this year
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Morrisons
All Morrisons stores will be closing on December 25, with most petrol stations also being closed on Christmas.
Petrol stations and most stores will reopen on Boxing Day. Drivers are advised to use the Morrisons app to see their local
Drivers are advised to check the store locator website for further information
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Sainsbury’s
The vast majority of supermarkets and convenience stores will be open from 6am to 11pm from December 18 to 23, while Christmas Eve will see supermarkets open from 6am to 7pm and convenience store from 6am to 9pm.
All stores will be closed on Christmas Day. On Boxing Day, supermarkets (9am to 6pm) and convenience stores (9am to 9pm) will reopen before returning to normal operating hours between December 27 and 30.
On New Year’s Eve, supermarkets will be open from 10am to 7pm and convenience stores from 6am to 9pm. On New Year’s Day, supermarkets will be open from 8am to 8pm and convenience stores from 8am to 9pm.
Petrol filling stations will open 30 minutes before and close 30 minutes after the main store, except on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve when they will open an hour later.
Stores in Scotland will be open from 8am to 8pm on January 2, with convenience stores operating normal hours.
Despite this, Sainsbury’s highlighted how opening hours can vary, with customers encouraged to check its store locator tool on its website.
Shell service stations are expected to operate as normal
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Shell
GB News understands that Shell service stations are expected to trade their normal opening hours.
There are over 1,200 BP branded petrol stations across the UK
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BP
Opening times on the BP website do not show any changes over the Christmas and New Year period.
Drivers may see differing operational hours over Christmas
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Esso/ExxonMobil
Esso said that many of its petrol stations would remain open over Christmas, although some of the in-store facilities may be impacted by different opening hours
