EPISODE · May 10, 2023 · 7 MIN
May 10th - A look back at the history of British domestic flights
from Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast
On this day in 1919, the first commercial air service in Britain began – from Manchester to Southport, a distance of just 40 miles. In the 104 years since then, the range of UK domestic flights has waxed and waned.I'm at Luton airport, where EasyJet began in 1995 as a purely domestic airline with links to Edinburgh and Glasgow.As rail links have improved, links like this have reduced – but Northern Ireland and Cornwall continue to benefit from planes rather than terrestrial links.This podcast is free, much like my weekly newsletter - subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What this episode covers
On this day in 1919, the first commercial air service in Britain began – from Manchester to Southport, a distance of just 40 miles. In the 104 years since then, the range of UK domestic flights has waxed and waned.I'm at Luton airport, where EasyJet began in 1995 as a purely domestic airline with links to Edinburgh and Glasgow.As rail links have improved, links like this have reduced – but Northern Ireland and Cornwall continue to benefit from planes rather than terrestrial links.This podcast is free, much like my weekly newsletter - subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
NOW PLAYING
May 10th - A look back at the history of British domestic flights
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Mar 26, 2026 ·1m
Jan 2, 2026 ·47m
Dec 21, 2025 ·46m