Tag: covid-19 crisis

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 the employment of its employment of its current cabin crew members and permanently discontinue the employment relationship between the parties,” Icelandair said in a statement. With this decision, Icelandair ended its ongoing contract negotiations with the Icelandic Cabin Crew Association (FFÍ) and will seek a contract with ... Read more

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 quarantine package starting at Rs 1,400 (approx. US$19) per person per night to INR 5,900 (approx. US$79) per person per night and that too from their station of origin. Customers can book the holiday package by visiting the airline’s official website. Commenting on the launch, ... Read more

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 of Gujarat, the lions of the Gir forest. This would include the Shree Somnath Jyotirlinga Temple and Girnar Hills, historical places like Uparkot Fort, beaches of Somnath and lion sighting in Gir Lion Sanctuary in Saurashtra,” Rupani said. He further said that the government is firm ... Read more

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 set to initially relax the social gathering rule, reopen schools and businesses on July 20, followed by border relaxation on July 24. Those who plan to visit Guam for five days or less and are from listed “low-risk” countries will be exempt from quarantine as ... Read more

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 214 flights per day on average. “The total number of passengers using the airport was 174,912 (85,758 incoming and 89,154 outgoing), or 11,661 passengers per day on average, which is a big jump from the previous months when the fifth phase of the easing of ... Read more

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. “It is designed so that they (entrepreneurs) will not be left behind when it comes to reaching out to potential customers and to conduct their business as usual,” he said during a press conference at the Malaysia Tourism Centre (MATiC). He also hoped that all states would ... Read more

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 to receive tourists following the city’s reopening to international visitors on July 7. A verification and validation process has been established in collaboration with the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), Department of Economic Development (Dubai Economy) and Dubai Municipality for issuing the ... Read more

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 minister Yogesh Bhattarai told news agency PTI. The first round of flights will be to and from capital Kathmandu, he said. The number of active coronavirus cases in Nepal dropped to about 6,000 this week, while the recovery rate remains impressive at 66%. In total, the ... Read more

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, Uruguay, and China (subject to confirmation of reciprocity). The Council notes that Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican residents should also be considered EU residents “for the purpose of this recommendation”. It should be noted, however, that the recommended list is in no way legally ... Read more

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 a disinfection tunnel and had their body temperature checked upon arrival at Tehran’s airport. In the departures lounge, masked outgoing passengers lined up at the Emirates check-in counter while an airport worker disinfected dozens of luggage trolleys. The United Arab Emirates was among a list ... Read more

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 restaurant, ample meeting space and modern amenities. With the health, safety and security of guests and team members as its utmost priority, the hotel has begun implementing the Radisson Hotels Safety Protocol program. “We couldn’t be prouder to open this incredible hotel near one of the ... Read more

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 airlines after several passengers tested positive upon arrival in China. In both cases the flights only transited through Bangkok, and no passengers disembarked. The carriers, Thai AirAsia X and Thai Lion Air, were flying from Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur earlier this month and reportedly stopped ... Read more

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, the industry’s GDP contribution is nearly 10%. Until March 2020, India used to boast that the tourism Industry takes care of around 12% of the total employment opportunities in the country. Unfortunately, these numbers became the biggest pain-point during the pandemic as the sector started ... Read more

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 fleet with immediate effect,” a British Airways (BA) spokesman told the BBC. “It is unlikely our magnificent ‘queen of the skies’ will ever operate commercial services for British Airways again due to the downturn in travel caused by the Covid-19 global pandemic,” the spokesman added. BA, ... Read more

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 to spur domestic travel, tourism minister Kazuyoshi Akaba told reporters. “We will commence the campaign, as we ask both the lodging industry and travellers to take measures to prevent the spread of the virus in the remaining 46 prefectures,” Akaba said. The government plans to ... Read more