Simon Calder

Gatwick drop-off charges hit £10 as airport increases its driver fee Exclusive: Sussex hub raises price for motorists by 43 per cent on 6 January 2026, making the charge almost as high as some air fares

Terminal tenner!
Airport drop-off charges to hit £10 as Gatwick hikes its driver fee by 43%.
Starts 6 January 2026 (on that day Wizz Air has a flight to Krakow for just £13.99).
Standard fee elsewhere: £7.
Gatwick blames rise on doubling of business rates.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

US Customs and Border Protection: “Nothing has changed for those coming to the US.
"This is not a final rule, it is simply the first step in starting a discussion to have new policy options to keep Americans safe.
"The Department is constantly looking at how we vet those coming into the country."

Trump ramps up tourist checks with mandatory social media inspection plans Exclusive: ‘These barriers will hit UK travel to the USA hard’ said Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership

Travelling to the US, e.g. for the 2026 World Cup?
Soon you will need to provide details of social media activity for the past five years.
Aim is to comply with President Trump’s demand for all visitors to be “vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible”.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

Egypt reclaims its history as Africa’s cultural pride and joy finally opens The Man Who Pays His Way: The builders have reached the finish line for Cairo’s Grand Egyptian Museum, and now the race to the past begins

Grand Egyptian Museum – the GEM – finally opens in full to the public today.
It has immediately become a contender for world's greatest museum.
Do you have a different nomination?
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

Eastern Airways: What are my passenger rights as airline stops flying? With no aircraft, no ticket sales and all flights cancelled, it seems unlikely the airline can be rescued

Eastern Airways: Passenger rights as it goes wrong for the UK regional carrier.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

Eastern Airways stops flying and returns planes to leasing companies All flights cancelled as airline files ‘notice of intention to appoint an administrator’

Eastern Airways has:
Cancelled all flights.
Stopped selling tickets.
Returned aircraft to leasing companies.
So sadly it appears the regional airline will close after 28 years, following BMI Regional and Flybe.
I am now writing an explainer on passenger rights.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

ICYMI: the latest episode of The We Society 🎙️ sees travel journalist @simoncalder.bsky.social join Will Hutton to discuss the joys of travel, how it has changed, and some of the threats that huge increases in tourism pose to popular destinations.

Listen now: media.leverhulme.ac.uk/podcast/calder

How to fix Britain’s trains: Expert calls for more railcards and first-class Train Talk: Thomas Ableman believes some passengers will gladly pay more for superior service

Rail: taxpayer subsidy of £400 per second to keep UK trains running looks unsustainably high.
Some fresh ideas from @freewheeling.info to entice new passengers and boost revenue.
Reserved seats on any train.
More first class.
Simpler railcards to drive loyalty.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

Hour-long queues in Prague airport as EU entry-exit system comes into effect Exclusive: Czech Republic vowed to introduce 100% EES checks on day one

EU entry-exit system not going well at Prague airport: busiest arrival point where the EES is due to be happening 100% on day one.
Queues of up to 90 minutes reported for arrivals from the UK and other non-Schengen nations.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

Thank you.
As I hope I have made clear, these French requirements have always applied to third-country nationals. What HAS changed is that for British travellers they were (almost) always dormant. But at Dover and St Pancras (and probably French air/sea ports) those questions will now be asked.

Thanks Mark. Do explain where I have done this.
For example, I say:
The EES kiosks in the Eurostar terminal at London St Pancras International and at the Port of Dover ask travellers “Do you have medical insurance?” This has been a requirement to enter France (but no other EU country) for many years

I am travelling to the EU on or after 12 October. What is changing? All you need to know about handling the Schengen area entry-exit system

EU entry-exit system explainer.
Key points:
No need to prepare anything in advance.
On first contact, facial biometric and fingerprints (not for under-12s) are collected. After that, just the face.
Initially it's an extra layer on top of existing manual checks.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

‘Scared’ Tui passengers feared ‘riot’ after being stranded in Bahamas Exclusive: The plane diverted to Nassau to remove a disruptive customer on Sunday

340 Tui passengers from Montego Bay to Manchester are stuck in Nassau, Bahamas, for 2+ days.
Original cause: an air-rage diversion.
Aircraft then developed a technical fault.
As Tui has no operation in Nassau, organising care is tricky.
Passengers cheesed off.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

EU entry-exit system: Join Q&A with Simon Calder on latest post-Brexit travel changes Simon Calder, The Independent’s travel correspondent, is on hand to answer your questions and demystify the EU’s new entry-exit system and post-Brexit travel rules

EU entry-exit system: just 32 days until UK passport holders start giving fingerprints and facial biometrics when travelling to the Schengen area.
Confusion and misinformation abounds.
At 11am today I will host an Ask Me Anything on the new red tape we asked for
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

Tube strikes today: When are they and which lines are affected? Everything you need to know about the upcoming walkouts, from the lines affected to the best ways to get to the airport

London Underground strike.
Northern Line is now running end to end.
Edgware and High Barnet <> Morden and Battersea Power Station via both Charing Cross and City branches.
Gaps between trains of 10 minutes or so, and some stations in central area may be skipped.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

Interrail sale: All the best European train route itineraries according to an expert Exclusive: Author of Europe by Rail, Nicky Gardner, believes that train travel offers “a chance to think”

Book an Interrail pass by next Tuesday, 9 September, and save 20%. Prices start at €226 (£197) for 4 days of travel within a month, 2nd class. 3-month continuous pass in 1st class costs €971 (£845).
Under-28s: further discount of 25%
60-plus travellers save 10%
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

Airline passengers behaving badly: Is it time for alcohol-free flights? Plane Talk: Do pricing policies for in-flight beers encourage passengers to drink more – and get angry?

Air rage incidents rose 8% in 2024 compared with the previous year.
Worldwide, there are now an average of 11 per hour.
Many involve excessive drinking.
Time to trial alcohol-free flights?
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

What will the EU’s new entry-exit system mean for British travellers? Under the entry-exit system, British travellers to the Schengen Area can expect to be fingerprinted and provide a facial biometric

Just 40 days to the start of the EU's much-delayed entry-exit system.
Roll-out across the Schengen area begins 12 October.
Passports will be checked and stamped as normal, but you must also be prepared to provide fingerprints and a facial biometric if requested.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

EU entry-exit system starts 12 October.
Authorities are doing all they can to ensure a smooth roll-out of the new fingerprints'n'facial biometric regime.
But if things start to unravel, says top aviation economist, Athens airport will see the greatest chaos.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

Ryanair to increase staff rewards for catching passengers with oversized cabin bags Exclusive: Michael O'Leary will raise incentive for boarding gate ‘offenders’ – claiming the policy will lead to lower fares

Ryanair cabin baggage rules.
CEO Michael O'Leary tells me 99.9% of passengers comply.
To persuade the 1 in 1,000 who exceed the newly expanded 40x30x20cm limit for a free bag, he is raising the cash incentive paid to ground staff to identify offenders by €1.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

What will the EU’s new entry-exit system mean for British travellers? Under the entry-exit system, British travellers to the Schengen Area can expect to be fingerprinted and provide a facial biometric

7 weeks today, the EU entry-exit system begins. From 12 October 2025, some British travellers to/from the Schengen area will need to provide fingerprints and facial biometrics; by the end of the roll-out (9 April 2026) that will apply to all UK passport holders.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

How the HS2 shambles could have been avoided – if we’d copied the Swiss Train Talk: After all the squandered billions, some lessons for the future of railway expansion

HS2: tens of billions shamefully squandered on a hopelessly botched rail project. Politicians top the list for culpability.
But a fresh take from @freewheeling.info proposes better rail planning: starting by looking at the best future timetable you can afford.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

Easyjet boss slams ‘unworkable and mad’ EU proposals to change cabin baggage rules Exclusive: CEO Kenton Jarvis says ‘it's a bizarre initiative from someone who clearly doesn't fly very much’

easyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis tells me European Parliament proposals to allow all airline passengers to take 2 pieces of hand luggage are “unworkable and mad ... a bizarre initiative from someone who clearly doesn't fly very much. There isn't room in the aircraft.”
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

Schengen area: what can I expect when crossing internal borders? Don’t be a checkpoint Charlie: pack your passport when travelling within the ‘passport-free zone’

The Schengen "border free" area is now tangled with internal frontiers.
The expanding controls deployed by each country means anyone travelling widely within the zone this summer will face multiple checks crossing frontiers on trains, boats, planes and highways.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

So sorry to hear it, can you kindly email all details to SimonCalder@hotmail.com?

Lovely, thank you. If I am not mistaken, Polish/Soviet black marketeers were often on board doing deals at every port.

If Ryanair didn’t exist, would you have to invent it? The Man Who Pays His Way: What did Europe’s biggest budget airline ever do for us?

40 years old on Tuesday and more successful than ever.
No, not me: Ryanair, which started flying from Waterford in southeast Ireland to Gatwick on 8 July 1985.
What did CEO Michael O'Leary ever do for us?
And if Ryanair did not exist, would we have to invent it?
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...

The wrong train, bus, dish, drink ... when has your travel need been lost in translation?
"We gotta get out of this place." Ever been stranded somewhere unexpected and had to improvise?
And showers in strange lands.
Share for the next You Should Have Been There podcast @youshouldhavebt.bsky.social

In July 2023 Mark Thurston resigned after 6 years as HS2's chief executive, during which he earned £4.5m.
The-then transport secretary, Mark Harper, warmly thanked him for "his work over the last six years on progressing Britain’s most transformative rail project.”
Mr Thurston now runs Anglia Water.

In August 2024, HS2 said: “initial services between Birmingham and Old Oak Common” would start between 2029 and 2033.
10 months on the government says: "There is no route by which trains can be running by 2033."
Times to Manchester and Leeds. the original HS2 destinations, will be largely unchanged.