Should you plan a trip behind what was once the Iron Curtain?

Simon Calder’s Travel Week [View in browser]( [The Independent]( March 11, 2022 [The Independent]( Once Putin’s murderers retreat from Ukraine, tourism will be essential to rebuild the nation. Until then, the borderlands will welcome you. Riverscape in the Lithuanian city of Klaipeda, absurdly just an £8 flight from Luton airport The first casualty of war: people, closely followed by truth. Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine has also had many repercussions in the realm of travel. One example: the old “Polar Route” between Europe and east Asia has returned. Three weeks ago, before the Kremlin’s onslaught on its neighbour, I flew swiftly from London Heathrow to Tokyo, mostly across Siberia. Today, the same flight – JL44 – [takes four hours longer, following a “dog-leg” route via Alaska](. Yet not every airline is shunning Russia. [Belgrade has become the new hub between western Europe and Moscow](, with Air Serbia adding flights to cash in on demand. And some of the most popular carriers from the UK – Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines – are flying to a range of Russian airports from their hubs. As I write on Friday morning, Etihad flight 63 is passing Isfahan in Iran on a curious flightpath that will also take it over Kazakhstan on its journey from Abu Dhabi to Moscow. Meanwhile Turkish Airlines passengers have a choice of two daily flights from Istanbul to St Petersburg. Last night’s trip crossed virtually every nation bordering Ukraine – Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland – as well as the three Baltic republics. Those frontier countries were once the wrong side of the Iron Curtain. Today, they are free, open and welcoming. But [British travellers are steering clear](. I plan a trip to Lithuania later this month, for a journey that will take me via Latvia to the Estonian capital, Tallinn. First, though, I sought the advice of Neil Taylor, author of the Bradt Guide to Estonia. Is it appropriate to take a holiday when the Russian military machine is massacring civilians in Ukraine? He was emphatic: “These countries are granting asylum to thousands of refugees and are crucial in delivering supplies to Ukraine. We should show our gratitude by continuing to support their tourism industries.” You might wish to do the same: not to capitalise on absurdly low air fares (though these are a fact; I paid £8 outbound, £17 coming back) but to show your support while, I hope, having a rewarding trip. Next week Neil will be at Windsor Castle to collect an MBE for his outstanding contribution to UK-Estonian relations: unlocking the benefits of travel to increase international understanding. When Putin’s murderers have finally retreated from Ukraine, tourism will be an essential component of rebuilding the nation. One day, too, the time will come for travellers to return to Russia. Until then, the borderlands will welcome you. Top travel headlines [What could virtual reality mean for the future of travel?]( “As my mountain guide chats away to my virtual tour group, I toggle left and right for an impressive panorama of the mountaintop.” Read Lucy Thackray’s realistic vision of how virtual reality is changing the way we seek travel inspiration and book holidays [I'm an image]( [Malaysia reopens on 1 April for the first time in two years]( Fully vaccinated arrivals will be permitted entry to the Asian country with no need to quarantine. Travellers must present a negative PCR result and take a rapid antigen test within 24 hours of arriving in Malaysia. [I'm an image]( [Qatar World Cup 2022: travel survival kit for football fans]( The opening match of the 2022 World Cup kicks off on 21 November at the Al Bayt Stadium (pictured) in the Qatari town of Al Khor. What awaits fans in this festival of football – from ticketing and transport to accommodation and the rules on alcohol, dress and behaviour? Tip of the week: London's secret tramway A tram subway in the heart of London closed seven decades ago – but will be open for pre-booked tours between 25 May and 1 June this summer. The Kingsway Tram Tunnel was the spine that linked the capital’s extensive tube networks in north and south London between 1906 and 1952. More than half of the subway still exists, complete with original features. The tunnel is the newest “Hidden London” tour from the London Transport Museum. [Tickets go on sale this morning](, price £49. Deal of the week: bus wars National Express has been delivering great service and value, connecting people around the UK, for decades. Between Newcastle and Leeds, one-way fares are typically £7.30. The coach line was expected to merge with Stagecoach, which runs local services around Great Britain. But [this week a private equity bid trumped that deal]( – and the investors may well have a “son of Megabus” operation in mind. The original Megabus, meanwhile, is offering consistently good value, with £7.62 appearing to be the standard fare between Manchester and Birmingham. With Flixbus (backed by investors with very deep pockets) also on the scene, fares for long-distance trips are set to stay low and perhaps fall even further. Already Flixbus seems to have a standard one-way fare of just £4 from London to Bristol, even booking on the day. Travel voucher of the week [Save up to £200 on holidays over £700 with the easyJet holidays spring sale]( Question of the week Can I claim for being denied boarding by Ryanair? Q Ryanair denied me boarding on a ski flight from Birmingham to Turin. They said my passport (issued on 18 November 2011 and expiring 18 August 2022) was not valid for travel. I am confident this is not the case, because I subsequently travelled to London Heathrow by train and flew to Turin with the same document later that day. At Turin, almost 12 hours after my scheduled arrival, I had to pay for a private transfer. How do I reclaim my extra costs of £360 – plus compensation? A Just thank your lucky stars that you appear to have flown to Italy when the rules plainly say that you should not have been allowed on board the aircraft nor through passport control at Turin airport. Since Brexit, and [the added complications to passport validity that the UK chose to accept](, British passports must meet two tests for access to the EU: issued in the past 10 years and valid at least three months after the intended date of departure. Yours meets the second test but not the first: it has not been valid for travel to the EU since 18 November 2021. Ryanair was correct to refuse to fly you, and you have no claim against the airline. I am staggered (and also delighted for your sake) that this was not picked up later at Heathrow before departure, or on arrival in Turin. To me, £360 looks a reasonable price for rescuing a ski holiday that legally you should not have been able to enjoy. Stat of the week 49% The decline in domestic aviation in Russia since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, according to data analysts ForwardKeys What you might have missed - British Airways ’sorry’ after cancelled birthday trip to Dubai. [Family have now been given correct compensation.]( - A new charity, Hospitality for Ukraine, is campaigning for hotels to open up to refugees fleeing the war. [The UK has 20 options.]( - United Airlines has ended its vaccine mandate for staff. [The carrier fired]([around 200 of its 67,000 employees who refused to comply,]( Simon’s diary Every day from Monday to Friday I tackle a top travel story, or explore a topic in more detail than usual in ‘Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast’ – available free on [Spotify](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Pocket Casts]( or [Acast](. 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