Travel
Entry and visas, flights and baggage, trains and ferries, insurance and passenger rights when things go wrong — always with the date the rules take effect.
Urgent UK passport: the Premium and Fast Track services
HM Passport Office runs two fast options — 1 day and 1 week. Here are the timings, prices and who can use each.
Flight delayed: when you are owed compensation and how much
If your flight is delayed for a long time through the airline's fault, you are entitled to help at the airport and to cash compensation. Here are the amounts and conditions under UK rules.
Next-generation airport scanners in Britain: what changes and what can be searched
London Luton has installed ten next-generation security lanes with CT scanners. Using the official rules: whether screening is now staff-free, whether you can carry more liquid, what officers may search on departure and arrival, and what you can refuse.
Driving in winter: what the law requires in snow and ice
Clearing all snow from your windows is a legal duty, and stopping distances on ice grow tenfold. A look at the Highway Code from the source.
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Flexi Season: the part-time commuter's train ticket explained
Eight days of travel within 28 days between two stations. How the flexible season ticket works and when it beats a monthly.
Railcards in Britain 2026: save a third on trains for just £35 a year
A Railcard is a discount card for British trains: it gives up to a third off fares and costs £35 a year. For frequent travellers it pays for itself in a couple of journeys. Here are the types.
Free bus pass for older people in Britain 2026: who qualifies and how to apply
Older residents of Britain are entitled to free bus travel. In England it starts at State Pension age, while in London free transport is available from 60.
International Driving Permit (IDP) in 2026: when Britons need one abroad and where to get it for £5.50
An International Driving Permit (IDP) is an add-on to a UK licence for driving in some countries. It costs £5.50 and you can get one at PayPoint shops. Here are the three IDP types and when you need each.
ATOL protection: what it covers and how to claim a refund
If a travel firm selling flights collapses, ATOL protects your money and your way home. How it works and how to claim.
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Baggage lost, delayed or damaged: how to get your money back
The airline is liable for checked baggage. We cover claim deadlines, how much is paid and when insurance pays more.
Passenger Assist: free help at the station and on the train
Book 2 hours ahead, the Passenger Assistance app, Turn Up and Go and luggage help — how to get support on the UK railway.
Zip Oyster photocard: free and discounted travel for children in London
The 5-10 and 11-15 Zip cards, the £10 and £15 fees and the expiry dates — how to set up children's travel in London.
What you can bring into the UK duty-free 2026: allowances
Arriving in Great Britain from abroad, there are allowances for alcohol, tobacco and goods up to £390. Anything over is charged duty and VAT.
Lost or stolen UK passport 2026: what to do
Cancel the passport straight away and for free; once cancelled it cannot be used even if found. A replacement costs £102 online. Here is the order of steps.
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Peak and off-peak fares in London 2026: when travel is cheaper
Peak fares run on weekdays 06:30–09:30 and 16:00–19:00 — travel is cheaper at other times. Here are the hours and prices.
How to renew your photocard driving licence in the UK
The photocard must be renewed every 10 years, driving on a lapsed one risks a fine of up to £1,000, and from age 70 renewal is free. Here are the fees and the process, per GOV.UK.
Disabled Persons Railcard: 1/3 off UK rail fares
A Disabled Persons Railcard gives 1/3 off train fares for the holder and one adult companion. It costs £20 for a year or £54 for three years.
Autumn Budget 2026: petrol and diesel to get cheaper — what changes for drivers
The 5p fuel duty cut is extended and the planned rise is deferred to July 2027. From April 2027 petrol and diesel will be 15p a litre cheaper. Plus more tax-free mileage for work journeys and cheaper EV charging.
Veterans Railcard: train discounts for armed forces veterans
The Veterans Railcard gives 1/3 off to UK Armed Forces veterans, plus a companion adult and children. It costs £35 a year or £80 for three years.
Network Railcard: train discounts in South East England
The Network Railcard gives 1/3 off travel around London and South East England. It costs £35 a year and extends the discount to companions, including children.
Family & Friends Railcard: family train discounts
The Family & Friends Railcard gives 1/3 off for adults and up to 60% off for children. It costs £35 a year, anyone can buy one, and up to 4 adults and 4 children can travel on it.
Two Together Railcard: 1/3 off trains for two people
The Two Together Railcard gives 1/3 off for two named people when they travel together. It costs £35 a year — just £17.50 each.
16-25 Railcard: 1/3 off trains for young people and students
The 16-25 Railcard gives young people and students 1/3 off train fares. It costs £35 for a year or £80 for three years, but a £12 minimum fare applies at weekday morning peak.
Senior Railcard: cheaper UK rail travel for over-60s
The Senior Railcard gives 1/3 off most UK train fares to anyone aged 60 or over. It costs £35 for a year or £80 for three years.
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Moved house? Update your driving licence address — or risk a £1,000 fine
When you move, you must update the address on your driving licence with the DVLA. It is free and takes minutes online — but not telling DVLA can mean a fine of up to £1,000.
60+ Oyster: free travel in London from age 60, until you get a Freedom Pass
London residents aged 60 and over can get a 60+ Oyster photocard and travel free on most of the capital's transport — even before the Freedom Pass is issued at 66.
Clean Air Zones in England: where you pay to drive and how to check your car
Several English cities run Clean Air Zones: older, more polluting vehicles pay to drive in, newer ones do not. Here is where they are, who is affected and how to check your number plate online.
Freedom Pass for Londoners aged 66+: free travel and how to apply
The Older Person's Freedom Pass gives London residents aged 66 and over free travel on most of the capital's transport, plus free local buses across England. Here are the rules and how to apply.
Dart Charge: how to pay for the Dartford Crossing and avoid a fine
The Dartford Crossing on the M25 is chargeable from 6am to 10pm every day. A car costs £3.50 and must be paid by midnight the day after, or a fine follows. Motorcycles are free.
Your first adult UK passport: £102, documents and timing in 2026
If you have never held a British passport, you apply as a new applicant, not a renewal: £102 online or £115.50 on paper. Here is who this route is for and what to prepare.
Train delayed? How Delay Repay compensation works
A delay of 15 minutes can already be worth money back. Here is how much each delay band pays, why the clock is measured on arrival, how season ticket holders claim, and what to do when a claim is turned down.
ETIAS: do UK travellers need it, what it costs and when it starts
The ETIAS travel authorisation for Europe is not running yet, but scam sites are already selling it. Here is who in the UK will need one, which residence permits exempt you, why Irish documents do not, and how ETIAS differs from the EES.
The 26-30 Railcard: a £35 card that cuts train fares by a third
If you are aged 26 to 30, the £35 annual 26-30 Railcard gives a third off train travel across Britain. Here is where it works and the morning-peak rule worth remembering.
London bus fares rise on 1 November: £1.85 instead of £1.75
From 1 November a single bus or tram journey costs £1.85 and the daily cap is £5.55. What you will actually pay, how the one hour of free changes works, and why five ordinary bus routes replace a £32 sightseeing tour.
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Package holidays: when you get your money back
If the organiser cancels, you get all your money back within 14 days. We explain when you can cancel without a fee and how insolvency protection works.
Package holiday not as described: what the organiser must do
Report it on the spot, set a deadline, claim a price reduction. What the organiser must do under the 2018 Regulations and how many hotel nights it pays for if you are stranded.
Elizabeth line: severe delays to Reading, only minor delays to Heathrow after Langley bridge strike
At 09:20 TfL rewrote the disruption: severe delays now run only between Reading and Hayes & Harlington, while the stretch into Paddington and the Heathrow terminals has minor delays. The cause is now given as an earlier bridge strike at Langley. The window runs to 01:29.
Private parking: £100 cap frozen, 10 minutes to leave and £20 for a mistyped plate
The Private Parking Code of Practice is before Parliament: five minutes to decide, ten to leave, charges cancelled when the machine is broken, and a £20 ceiling for a mistyped registration.
Air Passenger Duty: how much tax is inside your UK air ticket
The UK departure tax never appears as its own line, but it is in every ticket: from £8 on a domestic hop to £253 on a long-haul business seat. Children under 16 in the cheapest class pay nothing — and a passenger who did not fly can claim the duty back even on a non-refundable fare.
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Missing abroad: who to call first from the UK
On 19 October 2026 the Foreign Office announced a partnership with the charity Missing People: consular teams will refer consenting families directly. Here is who to contact in the first hours, what the FCDO can do and what it will never do.
Airport assistance for disabled passengers in the UK: what changes
More than 1,000 wheelchairs were damaged in transit in 2023 — over eighty a month. On 19 October the Department for Transport published the industry accessibility group's report: some measures are already running, while scrapping the compensation cap for a broken wheelchair on domestic flights is still before Parliament.
London penalty fares: £100, £50 and three appeals
A Penalty Fare in London is £100, halved to £50 if paid within 21 days. The appeal runs in three stages with deadlines of 21, 14 and 14 days. Miss the new window after a rejection and the discount is gone.
Speeding tickets in the UK: 14 days for the letter, 28 days for your answer
The minimum is £100 and 3 points. The numbers that matter more: the NIP arrives within 14 days, the Section 172 notice must go back within 28, and court fines cap at £1,000, or £2,500 on a motorway.
Loud music on buses and trains: a GBP100 fine, and up to GBP1,000 on the railway
On 19 October the Department for Transport issued the guidance that switches on bus byelaws: a fixed penalty of up to GBP100 for loud music, vaping, litter and alcohol. On the railway the sound rule has applied since 2005, with a maximum of GBP1,000 and removal at the next station.
UK personal allowances: what you can bring in
Wine 18 litres, beer 42, spirits 4, other goods up to £390. The trap: go over an allowance and you pay duty on the whole category, not the excess. You can declare from 120 hours before arrival.
Driving abroad: UK stickers, a £5.50 permit and what to pack
Spain, Cyprus and Malta require a UK sticker whatever your number plate shows; Ireland requires none. No international driving permit is needed in the EU, and beyond it one costs £5.50 at PayPoint shops and comes in three types — 1926, 1949 and 1968.
Taking a pet to the EU: a 10-day certificate and a 21-day wait
A pet passport issued in England, Scotland or Wales will not get an animal into the EU. A vet issues an animal health certificate instead: 10 days for entry, 6 months for onward travel and return. After a first rabies vaccination you must wait 21 full days.
Travel in London: daily and weekly Oyster and contactless caps by zone
The system caps what it charges: zones 1-2 cost £8.90 a day and £44.70 a week, a bus is £1.75 with free changes for an hour. A breakdown by zone and three reasons the cap can fail.
Lost your passport abroad: an emergency travel document costs £125 and takes two days
An emergency travel document is issued to British nationals abroad when the passport is gone and travel is due within six weeks. It costs £125 and usually covers one journey through up to five countries.
ONLYWAY NEWSLIVEJobs & Business · 06.11'Say what you pay': salaries may become compulsory in job advertsLaw · 06.11Buying online: 14 days to cancel and get a refundTravel · 06.11Urgent UK passport: the Premium and Fast Track servicesHousing · 06.11Dropped kerbs in the UK: how to get a legal vehicle crossoverLife · 06.11Free NHS sight tests: who qualifies and what about glassesLife · 06.11NHS Low Income Scheme: help with health costs on a low incomeImmigration · 06.11UK settlement: which years will count, and which will notJobs & Business · 06.11UK government plans to require pay information in job advertsMoney · 06.11Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods: family payments in ScotlandMoney · 06.11Scottish Child Payment: a weekly payment for families in ScotlandONLYWAY NEWS · appInstall the ONLYWAY NEWS appFresh UK news, classifieds, key dates and exchange rates on your home screen, one tap away. Free.NewsClassifiedsCalendarRates
Overseas residents made an estimated 40.8 million visits to the UK in 2025, ONS says
Provisional figures released on 16 October estimate that overseas residents spent £29.8 billion during visits to the UK. This is not tourism-industry revenue, and visits are not the same as unique visitors.
England's railways move into public ownership: who has transferred and what it means for tickets
On 13 October 2026 the Department for Transport confirmed to the Commons that Chiltern Railways is in public ownership. Ten of fourteen operators have now transferred, Great Western Railway follows on 13 December and Avanti West Coast on 7 March 2027. Here is what changes for passengers and when Great British Railways starts.
Piccadilly line part closed to Cockfosters as Elizabeth line recovers
By 10:15 the Piccadilly line had become the worst line on the network: no service between Arnos Grove and Cockfosters after a signal failure, with severe delays elsewhere. Tickets are accepted on buses, Great Northern, the Elizabeth line, SWR and the Overground. The Elizabeth line has largely recovered.
Elizabeth line shut to Heathrow, severe delays on Victoria
Overnight engineering work finished late: the Elizabeth line is not running between Paddington and the Heathrow terminals or out to Reading, with tickets accepted on the Underground. The Victoria line has severe delays from cancelled trains, with tickets accepted on buses and four rail operators. Croydon trams are in the last day of their closure.
Contactless eGates at UK airports: no need to put your passport on the reader
From 6 October 2026 UK airports began switching eGates to contactless: the gate photographs your face, checks it against verified data and opens without a passport on the reader. Testing shows it is up to 25% faster. For now it is British citizens only and East Midlands only; every eGate is due to be upgraded by early 2027.
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Jubilee line part suspended to Stanmore after fire alert
Updated at 08:30: there is no Jubilee line service between Wembley Park and Stanmore while TfL responds to a fire alert at Stanmore, and Underground tickets are being accepted on London Buses. The District line, by contrast, is back to normal. The Windrush line shuts after 23:15 tonight.
Windrush line delays and Croydon tram closures: London tube today, 5 October
A nearly clean morning: the whole network is in Good Service except the Windrush line, where overnight engineering work finished late and left minor delays. Croydon's tram closures are in their fourth day. The bigger catch is tonight — after 23:15 there is no Windrush service between Surrey Quays and Clapham Junction, and no replacement buses at all.
Getting home after midnight in London: what runs at night and what it costs
The Night Tube runs only on Friday and Saturday nights, and not along the whole line — only specific sections. On every other night it is the bus: N-prefixed and 24-hour routes cover the city roughly from 23:00 to 06:00, seven nights a week. Here is which lines run, where they end at night, what a journey with changes costs, and what changes on 1 November.
London Tube closures this weekend, 3–4 October: Victoria shuts on Saturday evening, Jubilee closed to Canary Wharf both days
The Victoria — Brixton section is closed from 7.30pm on Saturday until 10am on Sunday — exactly over the evening and the morning. The Jubilee does not run between Green Park and Canary Wharf on either day, the DLR loses Shadwell — Tower Gateway on Sunday, and Acton Main Line on the Elizabeth line is shut overnight. Line by line, with times and alternatives.
Cheap train tickets in Britain: a third off fares, and the money back when the train is late
A Railcard costs £35 a year and pays for itself in two or three journeys: it takes a third off most fares, and linked to an Oyster card it cuts off-peak London travel by 33%. Here are all nine railcards with prices, the £12 minimum fare rule before 10am, split ticketing (it is legal), Advance tickets, and Delay Repay — compensation from 15 minutes late, claimable within 28 days.
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Airlines to be banned from charging parents to sit with their children: under-14s must be seated with an adult free of charge
On 2 October the government announced that airlines operating in the UK will be required to seat children under 14 next to a parent or accompanying adult free of charge. Today a parent and child can pay up to £104 on a return journey for that, and up to £40 to correct a typo in a name. The part missing from the headlines: it does not start today — the government says the measures will be delivered after Royal Assent of the Civil Aviation Bill, with next summer as the target.
Victoria line severe delays, Circle running again: London Underground today, 2 October
Updated at 08:20. The morning has flipped: the Circle line, suspended by a points failure at Gloucester Road, is running again, while the Victoria has gone into severe delays after a track fault at Brixton. Buses and six rail operators are accepting Victoria tickets. District severe delays now only Barking to Upminster. What to take instead, and what tonight looks like.
London Tube and TfL closures in October 2026: the Piccadilly line stops entirely at Halloween, and no Tube to Heathrow on 17–18 October
TfL has published its planned closures calendar. The headline: the Piccadilly line does not run at all on 31 October and 1 November, and on 17–18 October the Hammersmith to Heathrow and Uxbridge section is shut — so there is no Tube to the airport twice this month. South London trams stop for nearly a fortnight, the Northern line skips Burnt Oak for two weeks, and this coming weekend the Jubilee is closed between Green Park and Canary Wharf. Here is the whole month, weekend by weekend.
From the airport into the city: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton — train, tube or bus, what it costs and where to buy tickets
Part two of our guide to Britain's airports. The golden rule of London transfers: the express is fast and expensive, the ordinary train or tube is two to three times cheaper, and the bus is cheapest of all but hostage to traffic. The Heathrow Express costs £26 while the Tube from the same station charges an ordinary fare; the Stansted Express starts at £9.90 booked ahead; the Luton DART is £4.90 for a 4-minute ride. All four big airports plus London City: what to take by day, what at night, where to buy tickets — and why your bank card already is one.
Lost or delayed luggage: what the airline must pay, how to claim and the deadlines you can’t miss
Your case didn’t come off the carousel. What to do at the airport, which purchases the airline should cover, when a bag counts as lost, the maximum under the Montreal Convention, and why 7 and 21 days are the numbers that matter. A guide based on UK CAA rules.
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UK passport in 2026: what it costs, how long it takes and when Europe will turn you away
An adult passport costs £102 online and £115.50 on a paper form, and normally takes up to three weeks. Yet a technically valid passport can still keep you out of the Schengen area: it must be less than 10 years old on the day you enter, and have at least three months left on the day you leave. Here are the fees, the waiting times, the urgent services and the traps that get people turned away at the airport.
Flight delayed or cancelled: up to £520 compensation, a free hotel and refunds — UK passenger rights
A 3-hour delay that's the airline's fault means fixed compensation of £220–£520 per person. From 2 hours — free food and calls; overnight — a hotel. From 5 hours — the right to refuse to fly and get everything back. The Citizens Advice rules, and how to make the airline pay.
Schengen biometrics explained: how EES works, when ETIAS arrives, and what Britain does instead
Since 10 April 2026 EES has run at every Schengen border: no stamps, fingerprints and a facial image instead. ETIAS is expected in Q4 2026 — €20 for three years. British status does not exempt you from EES, and Britain itself requires a £20 ETA. Point by point.
No more stamps: how the EU border works now
The Entry/Exit System became fully operational on 10 April 2026. Fingerprints and a facial image replaced the passport stamp, and a computer now counts your days. ETIAS is expected to follow later this year.
The UK ETA: a £20 travel authorisation, explained
Visitors who do not need a visa now need an Electronic Travel Authorisation: £20, valid for two years, usually decided in minutes. British and Irish citizens and holders of UK status are exempt.