Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

The 2,700 mile-long trail around the shore of England is the longest managed coastal walking route in the world. It gives unprecedented access to the shoreline, thanks to many years of painstaking work by today's guest – Neil Constable, who led the project for Natural England. We caught up on a breezy day...This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just when you thought London Gatwick couldn’t get any more competitive, Britain's biggest holiday company has launched at scale from the Sussex airport. Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy has been telling me why there is room for his company at a location already chock-full of easyJet, British Airways, Wizz Air, Tui, Ryanair. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

That's the surprising view of an eminent commentator on travel, tourism and geopolitics: the formidable all-rounder, Ash Bhardwaj, who has served around the world as an infantry officer in the British Army Reserve. I hope you enjoy our wide-ranging conversation.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Govia Thameslink Railway, which runs Gatwick Express, Southern, Great Northern as well as Thameslink – has brought out a new safety video which is designed to reduce the number of injuries – currently running at 16 a week – sustained by passengers at its stations. Writer and comedian Diane Morgan presents it.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about the effects of the Iran conflict on travel in the immediate and more distant future. Plus: how will it affect travellers' views on visiting America?This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael O'Leary, chief executive of Ryanair and Kenton Jarvis, CEO of easyJet tell me how the crisis has affected their airlines, while Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (Iata), assuages concerns about flying. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm talking to Bernard Donoghue OBE, director of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions. Today he has revealed the stars of the visitor attraction world, led by the Natural History Museum in London. And he looks ahead to the most exciting openings of 2026.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On a typical holiday plane with 160 passengers, one piece of checked baggage will go missing. That’s the shocking statistic from Sita, the IT provider for the aviation industry.But Georg Oschmann, VP Product Management for Sita, has been telling me how tech will reduce the number of stray bags and improve the response when cases do go missing. His colleague, Nick Batchelor, VP Strategy & Innovation (Airports), says that airports can increase capacity and reduce disruption by using smarter technology.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I am reporting from Abu Dhabi airport, where I have been transferring between Etihad flights. Even though the Foreign Office is warning against travel to anywhere in the UAE, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports, many British travellers are taking the chance. I have been hearing from them.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I'm reporting from London Heathrow Terminal 4. This is the main Middle Eastern hub at the UK's busiest airport. But with so many of its regular airlines axing most or all of their flights right now due to the Iran conflict, it feels like a ghost terminal.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.