BEIJING: China has stepped up measures to reduce food waste, after President Xi Jinping called the amount wasted “shocking and distressing”. The “Clean Plate Campaign” comes after Mr. Xi highlighted that Covid-19 had “sounded the alarm” on food waste. He added that China had to “maintain a sense of crisis about food security”. It also comes after weeks of mass flooding across southern China which left farms wrecked and ruined tons of produce. Chinese state news agency the Global Times sought to downplay what it called “media hype” that China was headed for a food crisis, made worse by the…
Author: holidayweekly
NEW YORK: United Airlines has begun cleaning pilot flight decks with ‘Ultraviolet C’ lighting technology on most aircraft at its hub airports to guard against Covid-19. The disinfectant process provides pilots with a sanitary work environment. The airline is using handheld, AUVCo blades from American Ultraviolet to kill any viruses that may reside on sensitive switches and touch screen displays within the flight deck. United has tested a variety of uses for UVC lighting as a disinfectant and consulted with its United CleanPlus partners at the Cleveland Clinic to determine that the flight deck was the most effective use of…
SOUTHLAKE: Sabre Corporation, the leading software, and technology company that powers the global travel industry, today announced the extension of its global distribution agreement with United Airlines, reinforcing both companies’ commitment to providing travel agents access to United Airlines content globally through the Sabre travel marketplace. With travel restrictions beginning to lift, Sabre’s technology will enable the airline to effectively market and sell its expansive roster of fares globally through the Sabre global distribution system (GDS), reaching more than 425,000 travel agents, and the travelers they serve, across the world. “As the industry moves into recovery, distributing air content to…
ISTANBUL: Hitit has been certified at Level 4 on the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA’s) 20.1 schema under the New Distribution Capability (NDC) certification program. This is the highest certification level for IT Providers with IATA’s latest schema and Hitit is the first player in the aviation industry to adopt NDC 20.1. Hitit, one of the top 4 global airline and travel IT solution providers in the world, has succeeded in being the first company in the aviation industry that is certified on IATA’s latest NDC schema 20.1, in addition to its current 17.2 schema Level 4 certification. Hitit also…
MUSCAT: National carrier Oman Air and Bank Muscat and have announced the upgrading of their co-branded credit card to the Platinium level. Customers can now accumulate Sindbad miles for any purchase, including even travelling on other carriers. For example, a customer who uses the card to buy groceries or buy a ticket elsewhere will get 2 Sindbad miles for every RO1 ($2.5) spent. The enhanced Bank Muscat Oman Air Credit Card also offers a number of new benefits and rewards including access to 25 airport lounges all around the world, 50 per cent discount at VOX cinemas on Tuesdays and…
DOHA: Qatar Airways has increased its services to Pakistan, operating 49 weekly flights to Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar with its Boeing 787 and A350 aircraft. Flights to Islamabad have increased from 11 to 14 weekly flights, to Karachi from 10 to 14 weekly flights, to Lahore from 11 to 14 weekly flights, and to Peshawar from five to seven weekly flights. The airline has effectively increased its flights to Pakistan by 32% so that they are now in line with operation levels before the Covid-19 crisis started. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said: “We are excited…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s scenic and major tourism destination Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) has opened all tourism activities on August 8, 2020, with strict safety measures in place as was announced by Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar on August 6. The admission of visitors will be subject to the clearance of medical reports, the GB government spokesperson said. The tourism activities have been opened under a “No mask, no tourism” policy and tightly controlled conditions. Mir Afzal Khan, the caretaker Chief Minister of GB, has issued directions to open the tourism sector with the proper implementation of travel standard operating procedures (SOPs). On…
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has will launch 27 rest houses in a bid to provide more facilities to the tourism industry and attract local and international tourists. [huge_it_slider id=”566″] The 27 rest houses which were earlier under the use of officials from different provincial government departments have been handed over to the KP Tourism Department. KP Tourism Department Spokesman said that the current government has launched several important projects to boost tourism industry across the province. In the first phase, the provincial government will use government rest houses in Hazara and Malakand divisions. He said that the KP…
DUBAI: Emirates has announced it will increase its passenger services to/from Pakistan starting August 10, offering customers enhanced connectivity to over 70 destinations within its current network, via Dubai. The airline is set to ramp up its flight frequency to/from Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, and Sialkot; and resume passenger services to Peshawar providing customers worldwide with greater access to its expanding network. Emirates will now offer customers 53 weekly flights to Pakistan, which will increase to 60 weekly flights starting August 16. All flights will be operated with the Emirates Boeing 777-300ER and can be booked on emirates.com or via travel…
China and Europe continue to post strong gains in their hotel industry recoveries, not so much in the U.S. Hotel company mask mandates won’t help the problem unless more Americans follow the rules. The hotel industries in three coronavirus hotspots past and present are rebounding from coronavirus shutdowns differently than executives and analysts first predicted. The global pandemic hit China, Italy, and the U.S. particularly hard. But while China and Italy have both contained the spread, the U.S. continues to surge with tens of thousands of new cases daily. Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson said earlier this summer the hotel business…