Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

Aviation, especially in Britain, is incredibly safe. When the boss of Wizz Air appeared to suggest too many of his people were staying away because of fatigue, there was an immediate outcry.I've been talking to the leader of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) who says pilots and cabin crew who are fatigued should be supported.Of course, this podcast is absolutely free, as is my newsletter which you can find at https://www.independent.co.uk/newsletters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's episode is about European air passengers’ rights rules – and the curious way that the arrival time of a plane is defined.Entitlement to hundreds of pounds in compensation is nothing to do with the departure delay and everything to do with the time the first door is opened.Of course, this podcast is absolutely free, as is my newsletter which you can find at https://www.independent.co.uk/newsletters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The train strike for later this month is very likely to go ahead. This near-certainty applies to all three national rail strike days – 21, 23 and 25 June – called by the RMT union on Tuesday.It is also inevitable, in my view, that the “bonus strike” on the London Underground called to coincide with the first day on 21 June, will take place.Of course, this podcast is free as is my weekly newsletter, which you can get every Friday: https://www.independent.co.uk/newsletters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With half-term hostilities over, I fondly imagine the airlines would have a chance to get everyone home who was caught up in the hundreds of short-notice flight cancellations over the bank holiday weekend, and regroup to face the summer ahead.Instead, by Tuesday the cancellation crisis was getting even worse – with at least 60 UK flights grounded by easyJet alone, leaving an estimated 10,000 people out of position. My thoughts on the summer ahead.Of course this podcast is completely free, as is my weekly travel email. You can sign up at independent.co.uk/newsletters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

London is once again gummed up by a Tube strike involving members of the RMT union.Transport for London, which runs the Underground, is accused by the union of threatening 600 jobs, tearing up working agreements and posing a “looming threat to pensions”.Workers point out that they worked all the way through Covid to keep trains running, and do not wish to accept any compulsory job losses. But finances for public transport have been utterly trashed by the coronavirus pandemic. There is a funding shortfall of at least 20% and the railways – under and over the ground – depend on taxpayer support to keep running. I am not convinced that today’s strike, and a national rail stoppage planned for the summer, is necessarily the best way to guarantee a strong future for the industry.Of course, this podcast is free as is my weekly newsletter, which you can get every Friday: https://www.independent.co.uk/newsletters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I took a trip to the stately home of Burghley House, which reminded me of the virtues of the Midlands. It's a wonderful part of the world, but once again, Britain's infrastructure can make getting to the delights of the midlands a bit more arduous than it need be.Of course this podcast is free, much like my weekly newsletter which you can find at https://www.independent.co.uk/newsletters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could this be the world's best-ever rail deal: unlimited travel anywhere in Germany by rail, bus, tram or U-bahn for the whole of June for €9 (£7.70) – just 25p per day.The one-month ticket has been backed by billions of euros by the German government in a bid to entice people back to public transport. And it’s open to foreign visitors as well, including Simon Calder, travel correspondent of The Independent, who’s at Cologne railway station.Of course, this podcast is absolutely free, as is my newsletter which you can find at https://www.independent.co.uk/newsletters Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We need to talk about Brexit – and its role in the present travel chaos. Of course Amsterdam and Dublin airports are seeing long queues, but leaving the EU has subtracted staff from airlines and airports in the UK to an alarming degree.As I write on 31 May 2022, I note that a year ago we had only just been released from the 19-week international travel ban; Portugal was the only major country on the quarantine-free “green list” (a status it would lose just days later).The UK aviation industry was crushed, and every time it tried to rise from the wreckage of hopes, dreams and profits the government would come up with another nonsensical rule to discourage travel. Who could forget “amber plus”, the category invented just before the main summer holidays started in July 2021 that had no rational basis whatsoever yet served as an effective ban on travel to France.I've been roundly heckled for suggesting that leaving the EU is to some extent responsible for the current problems we are seeing . Yet I cannot recall seeing an airline cancelling 10 per cent of its Gatwick schedule because of staff shortage, as easyJet has, nor a holiday company (Tui) axing 30,000 holidays due to insufficient ground handling at Manchester.Of course this podcast is completely free, as is my weekly travel email. You can sign up at independent.co.uk/newsletters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As London's ferociously expensive new railway begins its first full week, I've been looking deeper into the benefits of the project formerly known as Crossrail – including superstations that stretch between two stops on the London Underground.Of course this podcast is completely free, as is my weekly travel email. You can sign up at independent.co.uk/newsletters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been a horrific week for the state of aviation as scores and scores of flights have been cancelled last minute for a multitude of reasons. According to my calculations, there's been over 1,000 flights cancelled this week - mostly by British Airways but Easyjet have also had issues with flight paths. I take a look at what's happening and why - and how there's not much hope of improvement in the short-term.Of course this podcast is completely free, as is my weekly travel email. You can sign up at independent.co.uk/newsletters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.