Tag Archives: covid-19 crisis

Icelandair fires all flight attendants, asks pilots to take over cabin crew duties

icelandair

Icelandair has announced that it would be laying off all its flight attendants, ending a labour dispute with the crew members’ union that began last month. In an unprecedented move, the airline said it planned to have its pilots temporarily assume flight attendants’ roles overseeing the safety of those onboard, starting today. “Icelandair will permanently terminate […]

GoAir launches ‘Quarantine Packages’ for passengers

goair

GoAir has introduced ‘Quarantine Packages’ for passengers arriving in different cities in India from overseas or within India to ensure the passengers get quarantined easily at the selected hotels. Passengers can choose from a range of hotels including budget or high-end hotels in Kochi, Kannur, Bengaluru, Delhi or Ahmedabad. Passengers can now avail of hotel […]

Gujarat to launch tourism circuit in Saurashtra

saurashtra gujarat

The Gujarat government has announced that Saurashtra will soon have a tourism circuit involving its beaches, religious tourism and wild life travel centred around its lions. Chief minister Vijay Rupani has decided to invest Rs 126.96 crore for the same. “The Gujarat government is mulling developing a tourist circuit involving pilgrimages, beaches in Saurashtra and the pride […]

Guam welcomes Taiwan tourists with quarantine free travel

guam tourism

The United States territory of Guam has announced its plan to allow short-term travellers from Taiwan to enter the island free of quarantine beginning July 24, according to Taiwan News. In Guam, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is waning and its pandemic restrictions are easing as business gets back to normal. The tourism reliant island is […]

Suvarnabhumi Airport sees rise in passenger traffic

Suvarnabhumi Airport thailand

Suvarnabhumi Airport is seeing an increase in passenger traffic after the government eased lockdown measures in the fifth phase that allowed domestic travel, Nation Thailand has reported. Wing Commander Suthirawat Suwanawat, general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said that from July 1-15, the airport had seen operation of 3,205 flights (1,604 incoming and 1,601 outgoing) or […]

Malaysia hopes next month’s Virtual Expo will kickstart domestic tourism

malaysia tourism

The two-day Malaysia Virtual Travel Expo 2020 starting from August 22 could help boost the country’s domestic tourism, said Tourism Malaysia Domestic and Events Division senior director Datuk Dr Ammar Abd Ghapar. According to an Edge Prop report, Ammar said the online expo using the e-commerce platform is targeting RM1.2 million in returns to benefit the 640,000 small and medium-sized entrepreneurs in the tourism industry. […]

Dubai introduces ‘Dubai Assured’ stamp to certify tourism and retail establishments

Dubai desert

Dubai has launched a new compliance programme to certify and recognise hotels and retail establishments, F&B outlets and attractions that have implemented public health protocols for the prevention and management of COVID-19, Gulf News has reported. The initiative is part of efforts to showcase Dubai as one of the world’s safest destinations as it continues […]

Nepal likely to start international flights from August

nepal tourism

The Nepal government is planning to resume domestic and international flight operations from next month with the country making steady progress in its fight against the coronavirus outbreak. The Tourism Ministry is working on a tentative plan to start domestic flights from August 5 and international flights from August 17, an official close to tourism […]

EU updates list of countries to where travel can resume

European union

The European Union (EU) has updated its list of countries for which member states can gradually begin to lift travel restrictions. Re-assessed every two weeks and based on epidemiological data, the list includes the following countries from which travel should be allowed to the EU: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, […]

Emirates resumes flights to Iran

iran tourism

Emirates resumed flights to the Iranian capital of Tehran on Friday after a five-month break due to shutdowns to curb the spread of coronavirus, the Associated Press has reported. Emirates plans to have one flight per day to Tehran-Dubai-Tehran with a Boeing 777 jetliner. The 16 passengers on the Emirates flight from Dubai passed through […]

Radisson opens new Atlanta hotel, located minutes away from the airport

Radisson Hotel Atlanta Airport

Radisson has announced the opening of its new property near the Atlanta Airport. The hotel named Radisson Hotel Atlanta Airport is located just minutes from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and a short drive from downtown Atlanta. Guests can enjoy access to a complimentary 24-hour airport shuttle, unique dining experiences at the hotel’s onsite […]

Thai aviation authority says even transit passengers need to have health certificates

Hat Rawai Thailand

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) will enforce a new rule requiring all passengers, even on Thai-owned chartered flights or special flights transitioning through Thailand to have a valid Covid-19 clearance certificate, the Bangkok Post has reported. CAAT has prohibited all transit flights with Covid-19 infected passengers following China’s temporary ban of two Thai registered […]

“It’s a pity that many tourism leaders abandoned their employees during the pandemic after enjoying the fruits of their hard toil”

george scaria TPC

By George Scaria, President, Tourism Professionals Club The travel and tourism industry has been the worst-hit sector across the globe, during the  Covid-19 pandemic. The sector is a major contributor to India’s tax kitty, representing over 8% of the country’s GDP. It is also the second largest contributor to foreign exchange earnings. With regard to Kerala, […]

British Airways retires “Queen of the skies” Boeing 747s from its fleet

british airways

British Airways has said it will retire all of its Boeing 747s as it suffers from the sharp travel downturn. The airline is the world’s largest operator of the jumbo jets, with 31 of them in the fleet. “It is with great sadness that we can confirm we are proposing to retire our entire 747 […]

Japan to promote travel campaign minus Tokyo

japan tourism

The government plans to begin a contentious travel initiative next week as planned, despite a resurgence in new coronavirus cases, by excluding hardest-hit Tokyo from the campaign. Trips by residents of Tokyo and journeys to and from the capital will be ineligible for the government’s subsidy program, which will begin on Wednesday in a bid […]