ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has unveiled its detailed restructuring plan under which the national flag carrier will complete the process of shifting its headquarters to Islamabad by June 2021 while reducing the number of its employees by almost half. According to the plan, 7,500 of the 14,500 PIA employees will be laid off as per the voluntary separation scheme (VSS). Three thousand and five-hundred employees will be laid off under the VSS in the ongoing month. This will help the company save Rs10.5 billion annually. The number of employees for each aircraft will be reduced from 500 to…
Author: holidayweekly
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently unveiled key design elements of the IATA Travel Pass. The pass is a mobile application that will help travellers to manage their travel easily and securely in line with any government requirements for COVID-19 testing or vaccine information. IATA emphasised that the critical design elements would put travellers in control of their personal information for top-level data security and data privacy. The IATA Travel Pass stores encrypted data including verified test or vaccination results on the mobile device of the traveller. Global standards recognised by governments are also employed to ensure verified identity…
GENEVA: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that Kamil H. Al-Awadhi will be appointed IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and Middle East (AME), effective March 1, 2021. Al-Awadhi succeeds Muhammad Albakri who will become IATA’s Senior Vice-President for Customer, Financial, and Digital Services (CFDS), also effective March 1, 2021. As previously announced, Albakri will replace Aleks Popovich in the CFDS role upon his retirement. Most recently, Al-Awadhi was CEO of Kuwait Airways, a responsibility he held from November 2018 through August 2020. That capped a 31-year career at Kuwait Airways during which his positions included Deputy CEO and…
NEW YORK: Officials in New York have introduced quarantine rules for international travellers following the emergence of new Covid-19 variants. There are fears of new strains in countries including the UK and South Africa. New York mayor, Bill de Blasio, said all visitors would be ordered to stay for 14-days at the address they provided on arrival. He added said anyone arriving from the UK would be visited by police to ensure they abide by the rules. Those who breach them will be fined $1,000 (£737) a day, de Blasio warned. About 18.4 million coronavirus cases and more than 326,000…
MADID: The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has awarded its UNWTO.QUEST Certification to Fundació Mallorca Turisme. The award further advances UNWTO’s work to promote and recognize excellence and quality in destination management for the benefit of the whole of the sector. At the same time, it boosts competitiveness in Mallorca, one of Europe’s top destinations, and emphasizes the importance of placing sustainability at the heart of future growth. Fundació Mallorca Turisme, a UNWTO Affiliate Member, becomes the fourth DMO (Destination Management Organization) in the world and the first in Europe to receive the UNWTO.QUEST Certification. The international benchmark was created to…
RIYADH: The Saudi tourism ministry is looking to attract new investments worth SR220 billion ($58.5 billion) by 2023 and more than SR500 billion ($133 billion) by 2030, said a report. Addressing a session on “Future sectors” at the Saudi Budget Forum 2021, Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb said that Saudi Arabia had opened its doors to tourists last year as part of its tourism strategy, drawing more than 500,000 visitors from over 25 countries before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Gazette reported. “The tourism sector in the kingdom constitutes 3.5 per cent of the total gross domestic product…
BERLIN: Every year, the annual ITB Book Awards recognise the most original publications, mainly in German, but also in German translation. In the run-up to ITB Berlin NOW 2021, which due to the pandemic will be an entirely virtual event, the large-format wall calendar ‘Japan 2021 – Land of the Rising Sun ‘(Weingarten/Athesia Kalenderverlag) was picked for the Travel Calendar Award.” This magnificent calendar features unique picture-postcard views, with examples of impressive landscape photography and historical cultural attractions. They include natural attractions such as Japan’s Mount Fuji, along with the Churei-to pagoda in Fujiyoshida, photographed by Michele Falzone. Also featured…
DUBAI: Emirates has received the APEX 2021 Five Star Global Official Airline RatingTM, based on feedback from passengers that was independently collected by APEX via its partnership with TripIt, and validated and certified by an external auditor to ensure that all ratings were made by genuine travellers who had flown on the airline they were reviewing. Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer said: “We are delighted to receive this recognition from our customers. It reflects all of our efforts to provide our customers with a safe and enjoyable flight experience. He added: “In the past months, Emirates has constantly…
RAWALPINDI: AirSial, a private airline which has recently launched its operation, has announced that it will provide free travel to a passenger accompanying the coffin of a loved one. A press release issued by the airline said that AirSial chairman Fazal Jilani and the board of directors had decided to provide free of charge mobility of bodies, along with one family member, on all its routes. Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated AirSial on Dec 9. It is the country’s third private airline and it is being operated by Sialkot’s business community. The airline will commence its flight operation on Dec…
KARACHI: Visiting the highest global peaks in Gilgit-Baltistan has now become easy, as Pakistan International Airlines has introduced special fares to facilitate travellers visiting Skardu and Gilgit. Sharing the details, the national flag carrier announced that it would now be charging a minimum one-way fare of Rs6,915 from passengers travelling from Islamabad to Skardu and Gilgit areas of the federally-administered region. “Time to admire the highest peaks in the world in Gilgit!!” the PIA said in a message. Earlier, PIA CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik, while speaking to the marketing team and airline officials at a review meeting, directed the…