Check in before you check out an alluring overseas destination

Simon Calder’s Travel Week [SUBSCRIBE]( [SUBSCRIBE: £20 FOR 1 YEAR]( August 18, 2023 [View in browser](   [The Independent]( [The Independent]( Anyone remember airline tickets? Some travellers may look back fondly at these exotic travel documents. Often handwritten on Bible-thin paper with elaborate hieroglyphics, these booklets promised a flightpath to adventure. Friendly skies: Check-in at Billund airport in Denmark   [Get inspired...]( [Summer in... Andorra?]( Relatively few Brits visit this tiny Pyrenean principality outside of the winter sports season, but there’s plenty more to recommend it than ski slopes. [I'm an image]( [Portugal hotels]( Our experts have carefully curated the best stays, from sleek design hotels and city centre boltholes, to period townhouses and luxury resorts with a private beach. [I'm an image]( [Love is in the air]( The 10 best honeymoon destinations for a romantic getaway, from soaking in the Balinese sun to a safari across Kenyan savannahs.   Simon’s dispatches On a complex journey, each flight coupon in the document would be carefully torn out by check-in staff and stapled to a boarding pass, to be surrendered later at the departure gate. By the end of a trip, all the passenger had left of the ticket was the front and back cover, with the latter bearing a faint carbon chronicle of a life-changing journey. Thank goodness [that era ended 15 years ago](. Today the traveller gets instant digital confirmation of a booking, and has one fewer document at risk of being forgotten or lost. Electronic ticketing is better in almost every respect. (The one exception: when you could persuade ground staff to “endorse” your paper ticket to a different airline by applying a sticker and some illegible annotation. I was astonished at Caracas airport when a Viasa employee cheerfully signed my three-hops-to-London flight over to a nonstop British Airways 747 to Heathrow.) The traveller must still go through a check-in process, a formality that puzzles me. If I book a flight from (say) London Stansted to Bergerac, it's because I intend to travel on that aircraft on that day. Yet every airline inserts an intermediate hurdle that basically involves the question: “We see you’ve bought a ticket for a flight. Are you by any chance intending to travel?” This unnecessary interrogation doesn’t happen on a train, ferry or bus: on those forms of transport I just turn up with the code on my phone that I was sent when I booked. But airlines insist I reassert my travel plans and procure an additional document – a boarding pass – which I must carry either as a print out or on my smartphone. When flying on Ryanair or Wizz Air, I take both, because it can prove expensive if your battery fails at the wrong moment and you have to pay for a print-out. Ruth Jaffe, aged 79, and her 80-year-old husband Peter, had a slightly different problem. A week ago they were due to fly with Ryanair from Stansted to Bergerac. They knew they were required to check in online ahead of departure, but inadvertently did so for the inbound flight, not the outbound. In line with the airline’s policy, [they were duly charged £55 for airport check in](. An outrage, chorused [two in three respondents to an online poll]( I conducted: it was an honest mistake, and £110 feels more like an on-the-spot fine than an administrative fee. But the airline’s business model is based on brisk simplicity. In the wake of the controversy, I surveyed [the check-in policies of leading airlines](. All but Ryanair and Wizz Air (plus the US carrier Frontier) allow you to check in at the airport without penalty. Loganair says, pointedly, it offers flexibility so that passengers can “spend more time enjoying the journey than trying to interpret the rules”. We would enjoy the journey even more if check in was simply abolished.     Tip of the week: Return to Peru One of many route casualties of the Covid pandemic was the British Airways link from London Gatwick to Lima. BA suspended the 6,300-mile route in 2020 and it has not returned to the schedules. But on 2 December a South American airline, [Latam Peru](, will start flying from London Heathrow to the Peruvian capital five times a week. The flight is overnight in both directions. It will add to the competition to indirect destinations in Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. [How to see Machu Picchu the sustainable way]( PICK OF THE WEEK: VALUE ADDED TRAVEL [Experience indulgence at Atlantis The Royal: Dubai's premier 5-star resort, a masterpiece by global architects, designers and artists.]( Deal of the week: Free sightseeing tour at Istanbul airport [As figures this week showed](, Istanbul is chasing hard to depose London Heathrow as Europe's busiest airport. To increase the hub's appeal, the airport has taken a leaf out of Singapore's book and is now offering free sightseeing tours during long layovers. If you are on an international flight with [Turkish Airlines]( that connects through Istanbul with a gap of between six and 24 hours before your onward flight, just go to the Hotel Desk in the International Arrivals Terminal and sign up for a free tour. No need to worry about missing the onward connection; Turkish Airlines says: “If a guest is unable to make their flight in cases that are our responsibility, we will ensure that the passenger reaches their destination smoothly via the next flight.” [Istanbul – the airport where east, west, past and future combine]( Enjoy a year of unlimited digital access for just £99 £20 ✓ Full access to Premium news analysis ✓ Advert-free reading across web and app ✓ The Independent Daily Edition newspaper ✓ Puzzles, virtual event tickets and more [SUBSCRIBE NOW](   Question of the week: New arrival point in Cairo Q What can you tell me about Sphinx International Airport in Cairo? It sounds made up. A From 30 October, [Wizz Air]( will fly from Luton to this relatively new Egyptian airport, which shares facilities with a big air force base. The move will bring welcome low fares compared with British Airways and Egyptair, and also allow travellers to avoid the main Cairo airport – which I find a chaotic and unfriendly introduction to a wonderful city and nation. Sphinx International, with a modern and efficient terminal, offers a much less stressful experience. The actual great sphinx is not exactly next door: it is about 32km (20 miles) southeast of the airport. But a fast highway link with the tourist area of Giza completely avoids the centre of Cairo. Giza is also the location for the absurdly delayed Grand Egyptian Museum, which was due to open a decade ago. This spectacular cultural creation may finally open late this year, or perhaps in 2024. Finally, if your destination is the fine city of Alexandria at the mouth of the Nile, Sphinx International is much better placed on the main highway northwest to the Mediterranean than the main airport. [12 of the best things to do in Egypt]( STAT OF THE WEEK €2 [Charge for cutting a sandwich in half](, levied by a cafe owner beside Lake Como in northern Italy. The Independent has [compiled a guide to such hidden fees](. What you might have missed... - Chilly reception: [Fake signs at Spanish beaches warn English-speaking tourists to stay away]( - Sorry state: [Loveholidays apologises after shortchanging couple whose anniversary trip was cancelled]( - Winning sprint: [Trans-European race won by margin of one minute]( 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](. 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](. I find the easiest way to rush out stories is to tweet them. It’s also an easy way to contact me. My direct messages are open and I read all DMs, though regrettably I can’t respond to every one. Let me know your thoughts [@SimonCalder]( I find the easiest way to rush out stories is to tweet them. It’s also an easy way to contact me. My direct messages are open and I read all DMs, though regrettably I can’t respond to every one. Let me know your thoughts [@SimonCalder]( Each Saturday and Sunday I take questions live at 5.30pm British time on Instagram Live – from wherever I happen to be in the world – so please do come and say hello. Follow me on [@Simon_Calder]( Each Saturday and Sunday I take questions live at 5.30pm British time on Instagram Live – from wherever I happen to be in the world – so please do come and say hello. Follow me on Instagram (and also now on Threads) [@Simon_Calder]( Or you can find me on TikTok. Come and have a look at what I have been up to as I bring you top travel topics and report on the latest changes in a minute or less via [@caldertravel]( Or you can find me on TikTok. Come and have a look at what I have been up to as I bring you top travel topics and report on the latest changes in a minute or less via [@caldertravel]( [INDYBEST]( / [BEST TRAVEL BUYS]( [Best men’s summer shoes and sandals, for holidays, weddings and more]( From [sandals]( and [slides]( to [clogs]( and [trainers](, we’ve tested the [best men’s summer shoes](. 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