Essayer OR - Gratuit
Time to chuck out check-in
The Independent
|July 02, 2025
Simon Calder is tired of jumping through airline hoops
Weeks ago, I paid Lufthansa £185 for a return flight from London Heathrow to Munich. The fare is non-refundable. But with 30 hours before my flight home, I am obliged to go online to declare that, yes, I fully intend to travel.
It is a disagreeable process - the opposite of the James Bond villain’s line: “I’ve been expecting you.” Airlines across the world chorus: “Just because you’ve booked a flight doesn’t mean we’re expecting you.” Having logged in to the Lufthansa website, as a poor German speaker, I then had to scroll through the homelands on offer before happening on Vereinigtes Königreich (“United Kingdom”).
Then came the challenging questions. To the surprise of the German airline, I can reveal that I have not changed my nationality, gender, passport details or reason for travel since I flew out on Saturday.
Perhaps Lufthansa could use the details I provided ahead of the flight out to Germany? After painstakingly completing all the details from my British passport, it was surprising to be told that for the purposes of entering the UK “a national ID card of your home country is not sufficient”.
Cette histoire est tirée de l'édition July 02, 2025 de The Independent.
Abonnez-vous à Magzter GOLD pour accéder à des milliers d'histoires premium sélectionnées et à plus de 9 000 magazines et journaux.
Déjà abonné ? Se connecter
PLUS D'HISTOIRES DE The Independent
The Independent
Should I wait to book my autumn flights to the US?
Q I am planning to visit the US in September. Should I book flights now or nearer the time?
1 mins
March 05, 2026
The Independent
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW
Landlords aren't normally our favourite people, so it's easy to grasp the appeal of renting from a friend. But this setup can come with its own tribulations, as Katie Rosseinsky finds out
6 mins
March 05, 2026
The Independent
Help! The person I'm dating hasn't called me in six hours
The Indy’s agony aunt Victoria Richards is here to help
6 mins
March 05, 2026
The Independent
What Trump fails to grasp about Churchill's leadership
The wartime prime minister is often invoked as a symbol of defiance. But, says Guy Walters, the president would be wise to consider his strategic approach to the Second World War
5 mins
March 05, 2026
The Independent
The war in Iran could be the making of the prime minister
Pay no attention to him, Keir Starmer told the Commons when a Conservative MP asked about the health of the UK-US alliance.
3 mins
March 05, 2026
The Independent
Try as it might, this revival cannot help but feel dated
'Broken Glass', Arthur Miller's unsparing examination of the Jewish experience, is brought to the Young Vic in a worthy production that's not always convincing, writes Alice Saville
2 mins
March 05, 2026
The Independent
Spain says Trump is 'playing Russian roulette' over Iran
Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez once again criticised the US and Israel’s military actions in Iran, standing firm yesterday against fresh trade threats from Washington and warning that the Iran war risked “playing Russian roulette” with millions of lives.
2 mins
March 05, 2026
The Independent
How CIA are trying to drag Kurdish forces into Iran war
Militants could be primed to attack security forces, boost protests and help create buffer zone for Israel, say sources
3 mins
March 05, 2026
The Independent
Forget Winston, it's Harold who spoke truth to US power
It is 50 years this month, almost to the day, since Harold Wilson made his shock announcement that he would leave 10 Downing Street on his 60th birthday.
3 mins
March 05, 2026
The Independent
Reeves blow as UK set for 'weakest growth in century'
Britain’s economic growth this decade is set to be the weakest it has been in a century - outside of the Covid pandemic and the Second World War - despite Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves putting it at the centre of their mission for government, a leading think tank has warned.
4 mins
March 05, 2026
Listen
Translate
Change font size
